The ABC's of Beautiful Disasters
by Paradise Eco
Summary: As the days go on Parker Drake and the Krimzon Guard watch the city crumble around them. They try to keep order but how do you that when you're fighting among each other? The only thing Parker knows for sure is when they lose this war it'll be a show worth watching.
1. A is for Angels

_**The ABC's of Beautiful Disasters**_

_Chapter One: A is for Angels_

There were songs of how great Haven City was before the Metal Heads came. They sang about the glorious city in the east, how the children played in the streets without fear of the Krizmon Guard or Metal Heads. It was a time when their leader, Baron Damas, was a beloved but fair leader. He kept his city safe like a good leader is supposed to do. He walked the city freely with his pregnant wife greeting many of his citizens with a warm smile and an open heart. But what kind of story would this be if everyone lived happily ever after? Before the birth of his first son, the Metal Head broke the outer barriers killing hundreds, orphaning children and leaving the city broken. Damas was able to clear that section of the city leaving ruined buildings and cracked streets, before he could start cleaning up that section he was banished to the Wasteland.

Those who remember the rule of Damas are long gone, killed off by disease, Metal Head attacks or died naturally from old age. People only know the cold rule of Baron Praxis, the man with the iced heart and a thirst for power. Children feared playing in the street and many adults avoided going outside because of the new, and deadly, Krizmon Guard. To remind the people that they lived in the shadow of his rule, he built a towering palace to remind everyone that he, and his guard, was always watching.

In the basement of the Fortress Baron Praxis' guards were training. In a makeshift city, a girl ran down the street. She fired when she saw a Metal Head running towards her; the cut-out spun and slid back into the grove it lived in. It was the same every time, the same creatures that popped up and pretended to fire at her. If she wanted to, she could've done the whole course blindfolded but she knew Torn wouldn't let her do it. Her thoughts were cut short when she felt the dull pop in her back, she turned around quickly glaring at the newbie that ducked behind a crumbling pillar.

"_Taken out by a newbie, that's rough Park."_ Her communicator chuckled. _"Come back to the bay, I have a mission for you."_ She walked back to loading dock, dragging her gun behind her. She hated the walk of shame, she always laughed at the newbies that had to walk past her with the giant 'I'm out' splatter on their bodies. She only did the walk every couple of months on days she was off and that one day she had a hangover. She climbed onto the loading dock and glared at the fake city before she entered the small over look where the sergeants could watch their privates. She walked past them to the female change room, she tossed her helmet on the bench and opened her locker. She pulled off her red jumpsuit and tossed it in. She pulled out her black shorts, a white sleeveless top and her black boots. She shoved her feet into them and pulled on her red jacket, she took her mod gun and pistol and attached them to her hips. She slid her knife into its holder, as she walked out of the change room she slipped on her fingerless gloves and pocketed her communicator.

"About time, Parker." A man said stepping into step with her, he handed her a file. "I was getting worried you got lost."

"We designed the course, Torn." She said opening the file. "The day I get lost is the day you shoot me."

"I've gotten word that there's a rebellion forming in the Bazaar." Torn said ignoring her comment. "We've found their location but their objective is fuzzy, they haven't made it clear what they want. The Baron wants to snuff them out before they get any traction."

"Sounds boring," She said flipping through the three pages of information on the four members of the small group. She looked to her Commander. A year or so ago they both wore the chunky red armor the privates, sergeants, and officers used to wear. Now he wore a dark blue jacket under arm armor, his belt held everything a Commander needed, several communicators, three pistols and a mod gun. The metal on his boots made a clinking sound as they walked towards the elevator. She stopped and held it out in front of her. "Does the Baron really want us to go after four members? It's not really a rebellion yet."

"If anyone breathes the word rebellion he wants them in the Fortress and questioned immediately."

She sighed. "Fine, but I'm going home after this one."

"After you question them with Erol."

* * *

Rounding up the rebellious group of four turned out to be difficult, there were only two members that were at their hideout, which was a small bakery in the Bazaar, the other two scattered once they say the Krizmon Guard outside. The small collective of guards that followed Parker went after the other two, taking the one that used a Zoomer to escape down in a fiery inferno and the other fell to his death when he continued running through the Port. Her guards were now busy fishing for his body near the Hip Hog Saloon.

"Any update on the fishing trip?" Parker asked taking off her guns, she placed them on the table as Erol walked in. Just like Torn, Erol was stuck in the red armour before he graduated the level of Captain making him her boss. The man threw out his red jumpsuit for a blue one, which made her laugh because he spent most his time complaining about the red one. He kept the armored shoulders and the pointed boots; he paced in front of the glass window looking in on the old man sitting chained to a table. An hour ago he cried for the death of his sons and Erol just laughed in his face.

"Haven't heard anything." Erol said keeping his eyes on the sobbing man. "He cracked after I talked to him."

"He was scared." Parker said taking off her communicator and stepping up to the window. He was older with graying hair and a short beard. His upper lip was bleeding and his left eye was almost swollen shut, next time she wouldn't leave Erol alone with a prisoner. "He's sad now and will be easier to talk to."

Erol chuckled. "Are you going to use your womanly charm on him?"

She smirked and opened the door, the man immediately tried to jump to his feet but almost fell when his chains stopped him. "Wh-wh-who are you?" The man stuttered.

She kicked the door close behind her. "Lieutenant Parker."

"What happened to my other son?" He asked softly.

"Dead." Parker lied. "My officers are fishing for him at the bottom of the Port, granted," She sat down in front of him. "Finding him is highly unlikely." He crumbled into tears, sobbing out his sons' names. "So let's talk about this little rebellion you were planning." She snorted. "Although, it's not really a rebellion with four people."

"It's nothing," He cried. "Just talk between my sons, they hated the choices they had. They didn't want to work for the guard or work for the Baron. They wanted to be free and make their own choices." He dropped his head in his hands. "I warned them, oh Precursors; I warned them about talking like that."

"How do you feel about our Baron?"

The man glared. "He ordered you and your men to kill my sons!"

"We were ordered to capture your sons and talk with them, they ran so we pursued."

"But we didn't do anything wrong!" He shouted. "I'm a humble baker trying to make a living in this city, my sons were confused about their lives and spoke out. Speaking is not a dangerous thing."

Parker smiled. "Actually, two boys talking about rebelling against Baron Praxis causes others to come and listen. Those who listen tell their friends and families, they tell other people before it spreads like an infection across the city. Soon we have people testing the Krizmon Guard, plotting to over throw the Baron and challenging order." She leaned forward. "These are dangerous times my friend, Praxis is trying to keep the city safe and sound but he can't do that if simple bakers like yourself keep challenging his rule. So this is what's going to happen, I can send you to the Fortress to rot or you can tell me who else in your 'rebellion' and I'll send you to the Fortress to be re-educated in why you shouldn't challenge the Baron again."

"I'm not a part of any rebellion." He said.

"Alright," She got up and walked behind him. "Last chance, give me some names or you'll wish you were never born."

"Go to Hell." The man spat back.

"Wrong answer." She pulled her knife out of her leg strap and jammed it into the man's hand, she dragged it up slicing his middle finger in two. His screams echoed off the room as Parker spun it knife, he cried out for mercy as she walked to the window and tapped on the glass. "How's that for a womanly touch?"

TBC…


	2. B is for Blind

_**The ABC's of Beautiful Disasters**_

_Chapter Two: B is for Blind_

Her crimson red heels clicked down the hallway, she had heard the rumours from the privates and demanded the truth from the sergeants and officers. After she threatened to cut their pay most of them complied with her wishes and told her the whole story. She flashed her pass to the guard at the entrance of the prisons.

He snorted. "Torn sent you, didn't he?"

"Of course," She said stepping through the opened door. "He's too busy for this sort of thing. Walk me to the prisoner."

"Yes, Warrant Officer." He said locking the doors behind her. He motioned for her to follow. Normally when she walked through the prison section of the Fortress she had to deal with the hoots and hollers of the prisoners –and some of the Krimzon Guard. Now it was quiet. Not complete silence but close enough. She could hear the groans of the prisoners in pain and pleas for more morphine. She covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief, the smell of piss, blood and death was overwhelming and it took all her strength to keep her lunch down. The guard stopped and banged on the open cell door. "Amberly is here." He said into the dark cell.

"Come on Amberly," A friendly voice chirped. "I'm not going to bite."

The guard switched the dull light on as Amberly stepped over the threshold of the cell. "These are new shoes Slim," She snarled. "You'll be paying if they get ruined." She stopped and looked at the small creature against the wall. He was curled in on himself, crying into his arm. She hugged her clipboard to her chest as a fair skinned man snapped a pair of bright yellow gloves on. He wore baby blue scrubs and a white doctors' coat, he leaned against his cart.

"Thanks for coming so quickly," Slim said handing her a sheet. "I need your signature for surgery."

She nodded quickly and looked down at the sheet, her eyes scanned the document. It was the same document she had to sign every week, a simple signature for an operation, a death warrant or release forms. At some point she stopped reading half of them and signed her name in different coloured pens, but this time she stopped when she saw two familiar names. She tapped the document and looked to Slim. "He was interrogated by Erol and Parker?"

He gave a quick nod.

She sighed and signed her name. "Take off his whole hand," She said handing the form back to Slim. "I don't want that gangrene spreading."

"That was the plan." Slim said pulling out his instruments. "Are you going to watch?"

Amberly wrinkled her nose at sharp blades on Slim's table, she slowly backed out of the cell. "No thank you." With that she ran from the man's cell to the gates, the guard buzzed her through and she ran out only stopping to turn when she heard the blood curling scream of someone losing their hand.

* * *

On days like this, Parker loved living in Haven City. The sun was shining and warmed her from head to toe. There weren't any crimes reported for the last two days and it seemed like everyone, including the Krizmon Guard, were in a better mood. She stretched reaching her fingers to the sky and took a deep breath in. Her second favourite spot besides the Forest was the Bazaars. It always seemed full of people, it made her feel connected after days in the Fortress doing paperwork and working on battle strategies with the Baron, Ashelin, Amberly, Erol and Torn. She wandered to a fruit stand and picked a beautiful blood red fruit. It smelt sweet and slightly tangy, she paid the women in a flowery headscarf before re-joining Erol at a trading post. She took a bite of the fruit as a group of her Krizmon Guard came out of the post carrying boxes of kangarat skins and rare gems from the Icelands.

"This is your final warning," Erol snapped at the tattooed men that ran the trading post. They both looked bored with the conversation as one of them yawned loudly and the other checked dirt under his nails. She knew they both had to be from Kras City, everything about them screamed it. Their clothes, their attitude towards her guards and glare they gave her when she entered their trading post. "Parker," The girl jumped at her name. "Write them up."

She took out her yellow pad of paper. "If you violate this list you'll be denied entry to Haven City." She held out the paper. "Report to the Fortress in six months' time to renew your license, if you wish to keep running this post."

The man brushed her wrist as he took the paper and gave her a wink. "Thanks Lieutenant."

"Let's go," Erol said walking away. She followed tossing her fruit into a trash bin. She watched a couple of her guards patrol the area around the highways, one nodded to her as he traded off with another guard on the Krizmon Guard zoomers.

"So where's Olivia?" Parker asked tucking her arms behind her head. "Doesn't she normally patrol the Bazaars with Ruperttikjakmos?"

"He's patrolling the Port, and she's training with her guards."

"Sounds boring, at least he gets a drink or two out of it."

He paused and turned suddenly, catching Parker of guard as he walked towards a dead end of the Bazaar where animal skins were sold and some spices she never heard of. She ran after him giving her guards a thumb's up for everything was okay, they responded back before going back to work. She smiled. She loved her guys; they were so loyal to her like old brothers and fathers –and they didn't treat her like a five year old that needed their protection.

She ducked under the flap of the green tent that stood in the east side of the Bazaar. Her nose wrinkled as the flap closed. She should get Amberly in here, she'd organize the tent in two hours. She stepped over a basket of golden orbs and barely missed a small collection of decaying Metal Bugs. Sitting on a mat was an old women, so fragile and skinny that Parker was sure she was dying of some sort of disease.

"Are you the old soothsayer I've heard about?" Erol asked. "I have some questions I need answered." Parker bent down on the dirt floor to look under her bowled hat. The old woman opened her paled eyes, Parker knew she was blind but could feel her staring at her. The women smiled before clapping her hands together igniting Blue Eco with a spark.

"No appointments!" Someone above them shouted, Parker jumped back as a bird swooped down and landed on the women's hat. "Come back, hmm, sometime next week."

Erol pulled out his gun and pointed it at the moncaw. "I have questions and I'm not leaving until they're answered."

"Did I say next week, I meant right now!" He laughed nervously. "I am Pecker!" Parker glanced to Erol, they both smirked. "Onin's interpreter," The woman started to sign wildly, using the Blue Eco to make small symbols. "Onin welcomes you Captain Erol and Lieutenant Parker."

"I want answers. I heard from another Oracle there's a great darkness coming, something the city isn't prepared for." Erol said crossing his arms. "I want to know what and who it is."

"Onin says: the future is still unclear for this planet, there is still a fog that covers the future and there are many paths we can take." Pecker answered.

"Is it the Metal Head Leader?" Parker asked.

"No. It's something darker and dangerous."

Erol growled rubbing the space between his eyes. "How do the Krizmon Guard prepare themselves?"

"Onin says: a boy with Eco powers will fall from the sky." Erol glance to her, she shrugged. Boys don't fall from the sky… normally. "He is a great hero and will help you, if you ask."

"I have no time for children!" Erol shouted. "I have a city to protect." He turned and stomped out of the tent. Parker turned and followed.

"Parker," She heard Pecker shout. She stopped at the door and looked over her shoulder. "Onin says: it's nice to see you again and that your eco levels look good."

She paled as she caught a glimpse of Erol pacing angrily in front of the tent. "I have no idea what you're talking about, old woman." She ran out of the tent ignoring Pecker's shout to come back. She found Erol pacing back and forth near the entrance to the highways, he was grumbling to himself as their guards looked on. She took out her communicator, their shift was over. "Alright boys," She shouted. "Our shift is over, report back to me tomorrow morning at eight sharp." A couple of the men started to walk away. "If you're late you'll be doing laps around the Port until your feet bleed!" A few hung around before following after their comrades, leaving Parker watching Erol pacing. "You need a drink… or ten."

"I need to fix this problem."

"And it won't be fixed if you're tense," She started to walk. "C'mon, first round is on Torn."

* * *

Author Note

Hello everyone, thanks for clicking on this story. It is a rewrite of a couple stories that were published on here back in 2010 or 2011… I can't remember to be honest. Anyways, thanks to EcoSeeker for her review and the favourites. The next chapter should be published so hope on over and enjoy. Don't forget the golden rule: Read. Enjoy. Review. RER for short.


	3. C is for Colours

**_The ABC's of Beautiful Disasters_**

_Chapter Three: C is for Colours_

"Oh Squeaker, I have a mission for you." A couple of her men held back their laughter as the fat crime boss, Krew, came floating over. She spun on her bar stool and crossed her arms. She heard rumours that Krew was interested in more Metal Head trophies for his bar, he even tried to rope Torn into getting him some a couple nights ago but the Commander declined. Parker on the other hand wanted to leave the city for an hour or so, while the Krizmon Guard had interesting things to do within the city it was outside the walls that let them be free and reckless. Parker ran her finger around the top of her glass watching as the man swung around his pole. "A little bird told me there's a new type of Metal Head out at the Pumping Station, I want you and your boys to go out and collect me four of them."

She looked to her men. They hadn't seen any real action since, well to be honest she couldn't remember. Each one of them looked at her with excitement, they wanted this mission but she wanted something more. "Well we love to go out and get you some but my men's weapons aren't up to par. I think some upgrades are in order, don't you think boys?" They cheered raising their glasses to her.

Krew glared at them. "Fine." He flew up to a space above his bar, he pulled out a box and came back down. "Hot off the presses from Lena." Parker took out the first gun and pointed it at a Metal Head above her. It rested comfortably on her shoulder, she peered through the tiny orange eyeglass at her target. She pulled the trigger, a loud pop that made a couple of her newer boys jump. She walked over to the Metal Head on the wall, one bullet to the head with six other bullets in the walls around it. She smirked. Leave it to Lena to make her new favourite weapon.

"We'll take them." She said tossing the gun to a guard beside her. "Suit up boys, we leave in five."

"Squeaker," Krew said floating down beside her. "I have a request," She crossed her arms and glared at the man. "I have a special _delivery_ coming in at the end of this week. I need a discreet group of Krizmon Guards to move it through the sewers for me."

"Talk to Erol about it," She said waving the man away. "Discreet is his speciality, but I'll be there." A newbie handed her a new gun, she nodded to him and walked towards the door. "Let's move boys!"

It took them ten minutes to reach the gates to the Pumping Station. The older more seasoned guards bounced excitedly on the balls of their feet, chatting loudly about who was going to get more gems and making bets –which included some bar tabs and rounds of drinks. The newbies, especially the two that joined last week, were standing in the back pale and silent. One seemed to be praying under his breath. She looked at all her men. Fourteen of them, plus her made a solid fifteen. Three of the men had been with her when they started out, if spots opened up for sergeants or officers she was going to recommend them. Seven joined over a year ago, they were around her age and loved to goof around. The four others, including the two recent joiners and the prayer, were still nervous around her and hid whenever a fight broke out or whenever someone shouted Metal Head. The airlock opened and she heard Amberly's voice come on the P.A. system.

"You are now leaving Haven City."

A shot was fired by one of her Seven. All of them howled like wolves before running out and going after the Metal Grunts that ran towards them. She rolled her eyes and followed behind, shooting at the Grunts above them. Behind her she could hear the older guards shouting at the newbies to get moving. She jumped onto the ledge above her and followed her Wolves as they shot down a couple Znorkle Tooths –which Parker hated so much she was glad her Wolves took care of them. One of them found the Metal Head Krew was asking for, she only saw the creature fall to the ground in a cascade of yellow bullets. A couple of the older men ran up behind her, dragging the newbies behind them.

"Glad you can join the party." Parker snapped at her newbies as they ran ahead of her, clutching their guns for dear life. One froze at the sight of a Glub, the bug eyed creature with yellowish green skin. "Shoot it!" She shouted at her guard, but he started to whimper as the creature started to jump towards them. She kicked the creature back, it fell off the cliff and into the murky waters. She whipped around on her newbie, the others had ran ahead with the older men. "Get up." She snarled. "Go back to the city and run around it."

The newbie whimpered. "How many times… ma'am?"

"Until I tell you to stop!" She screamed at him. He got up and ran back the way they came. She started after her men, giving a howl to get the attention of her boys. They howled back as a pact which was followed by a couple more shots that rang out. She stopped when she found one of her older guards dragging a Grunt back to the entrance. She found the Wolves near the pumping valve drinking water from their bottles.

"Where's the newbie?" An older guard with fading tattoos asked.

"Sent him back to the city," She pulled out her water bottle. "He's going to run around the whole city until I say to stop." She took a big gulp of water but gagged and spit it out. The Wolves started laughing hysterically, a couple of them rolling around on the ground. She sniffed the liquid in the bottle. Lime tequila. She threw the bottle at them. "You assholes! I'm going to run ya'll to the ground in training!" They kept laughing as she took one of their bottles and down the water, letting the cool liquid wash away the bitter and hot taste of the tequila. "How many did you guys take out?"

"Six." One of the Wolves answered. "Can't have too many dead Metal Heads!"

She capped her bottle. "Well let's get them back to Krew and head back to the Fortress for a much needed shower and the best dinner ever."

"Here, here!" They cheered raising their bottles.

The walk back was easy. Most of the Metal Heads were gone and the ones that were still around didn't last long to see the people who shot them. "So, who won the bet?" She asked as they landed on the small strip of beach.

"I did!" A Wolf shouted behind her. "Guess who's buying drinks tomor-" An explosion cut him off. Parker was tossed into the grim waters, she choked on the waters before breaking the surface. Metal Heads stormed the beach from the air, the waters and from where they were just walking. She swam to shore and dove beside a Wolf.

"Ten Fourteen!" She shouted into her communicator. "Ten Fourteen! Metal Head sneak attack in the Pumping Station, requesting aid! I repeat! Metal Head sneak attack in the Pumping Station, requesting aid!" She pocketed her unit and started firing at the large Goons that shot back. A small group of her unit were stuck onto of a platform firing at a group that came at them. "You," She pointed at one of her guards. "In the tree."

He smiled. "Yes ma'am!" He took off running swinging his sharpshooter gun over his shoulder as he climbed the small tree. Up on the ledge she saw that it was all the newbies with about four Wolves and the rest of her old guards. She ran along the beach and grabbed the ledge and pulled herself up, she ducked as a Grunt fired at her. She shoot back the bullet hitting it in the chest and the rest of them hitting it's face, arms and legs. She slid under Spyder Gunner to get to her men, a Wolf pulled her up and started firing –with a smile on his face.

"You're enjoying this." She snapped at the boy. He gave her a big lopsided grin before taking out a grouping of spiders on the walls. The Metal Heads soon stopped attacking the beach and came onto the ledge. They smaller Metal Heads came in drones, attacking in large waves leaving the group tired. She turned around when she heard a scream. A grunt had jumped the wall behind them and bit into one of the newbies, he screamed as the grunt's claws dag into his flesh. The two newbies that were left started to back up and bumped into her and the Wolves.

"What do we do?!" They screamed.

"Abandon ship!" Parker shouted of the newbie's deafening screams. Both looked confused as the older guards and a couple of Wolves jumped off the ledge and into the water.

"What does that mean?" One of them asked. A Wolf ran up behind him and gave him a good shove.

"It means jump you idiot!" The last of the Wolves jumped, giving one last howl before splashing into the waters. Parker followed suit leaping off the platform just as the city's doors opened. Under the water, everything seemed calm. So peaceful and quiet, she looked up as a grunt fell off the cliff and into the waters. She swam forward but the creature's claw caught her back. She let out a scream but water rushed in, filling her lungs as she pushed for the surface. She crawled onto the beach coughing up the water, she could hear coughing to her left as the rest of her squad crawled onto the beach. She looked back towards the platform, it was painted red with the blood of her newbie –the prayer. Most of the Metal Heads were gone or hurrying away from the bullets that came from the rescue squad.

A strong hand yanked her up, the sudden jerk made her kneel over and have another coughing fight. She hugged her sides as Erol barked orders at his men. "Kill them all!" His men ran past her. Erol yanked her up again, she pushed away his hand. "Come on, get up."

"Give me a second." She said pushing herself to her feet. She pushed her soaking wet hair out of her face. "How many dead?" She asked.

"Three," A Wolf answered.

"Collect the dead," She ordered walking up the beach but she fell to her knee and bit her lip. Her side was on fire, she didn't want to look. A dull pain in her back also made her wince as she stood again, she turned to look at her men. They were all working on getting their friends, but it was Erol who was staring at her.

"What happened to your back?"

"Grunt caught me in the water."

"You need a health pack." He said going to a crate.

"No, I don't."

"Yes you do," He said breaking the crate and picking up to glowing health packs. "Don't be stubborn." She stumbled towards the gate. She used the wall to hold herself up, when the doors opened she stepped inside and fell to the metal floor. Erol came in after her, he didn't look happy. "If you die Lena will kill me with my own weapon."

"I know," She said through her teeth. "I just don't need health packs." She pushed herself up and leaned against the wall. She touched her amulet around her neck and closed her eyes, hearing the voice of her father in her head. _"It isn't a curse, my dear. It's a blessing from the Precursors, just like being to touch your nose with your tongue or walking on your hands." _She felt it bloom in her lower back, like the first flower of spring. Soon it began to spread like a weed, moving up her back, to her side and then across her shoulder. She took a deep breath before pushing herself to her feet.

Erol stalked over and turned her around, looking at her back. She crossed her arms and looked over her shoulder at him. "Lose something?"

"How'd you do that?"

"My family's been cursed with Green Eco." She said turning back around to face him. "You know that."

"No, well I heard the rumours but I thought they were just… rumours."

She rolled her eyes as the doors opened and her men came through with a couple trophies for Krew, all of her Wolves were still present but one of her older guards was dead. She knew about the one newbie that was torn apart by the grunt but she wasn't sure where the other one was. As if reading her mind, the last newbie spoke, "He didn't know how to swim, so he drowned." He kept his head down as the Wolves hooked their arm around his shoulders.

"Lighten up, kid!" A Wolf laughed. "You made it through your first out of city mission, making you an honorary wolf!"

"Now howl," The sharpshooter demanded. The newbie gave a pathetic puppy howl. "Come on Pup, louder like you mean it!" All the boys howled loud and strong. He howled again, a bit stronger but not strong enough. "Let's have a drink, to our new Pup!" The boys cheered and ruffled his hair, they left the airlock howling.

Erol looked to Parker. "You're men are weird."

"And I love them." She smiled back and ran after them, howling herself.

* * *

Author's Note

Two updates in one night? Yes I know I'm crazy but after I wrote the first one I couldn't fall asleep, I even went for a walk so I wrote some more. Luv, Paradise Eco.


	4. D is for Division

**_The ABC's of Beautiful Disasters_**

_Chapter Four: D is for Division_

It was hard to get a job in Haven City. Not that there were no jobs, it was either work for the Krimzon Guard or nothing. Almost everyone worked for the Baron or struggled under his taxes and laws. While many tried to make it on their own they normally came crawling back to the Baron with their tails between their legs. There was only one person, besides Krew and a few others that Parker equally hated, that Parker openly trusted and loved with all her heart. Parker, Amberly and Lena were born within a week of each other. First was Amberly, followed by Lena and Parker twenty-three hours later. Amberly and Parker followed in their parent's footsteps and joined the guard when they turned thirteen but Lena had other plans. Leaving the city she came back a year ago with an idea, a brilliant –yet deadly– idea. She opened her own auto body shop called Lucky Lena's. Krew and the Baron tried to shut her down, but they couldn't fight the Mizo Family. Thanks to Lena the Mizo Family had a strong hold in Haven and weren't planning on letting her go, ever.

Parker walked into the shop, she didn't bother ringing the bell. She ducked under the divider and went to the back where she knew Lena would be. She heard the girl before she saw her.

"Get out of here!" Lena shouted. Parker moved out of the way as a man in a long jacket ran out of the garage, he stopped at the entrance and stomped back.

"You bitch!" He shouted in a thick Kras accent. Parker ducked when a wrench spun from above and nailed the man square in the face. He fell to the ground nose bleeding and unconscious; she heard a couple of laughs from above before Lena dropped down to the ground. The dark skinned girl wore a bodysuit, brown stockings that attached to her belt and a brown jacket. Her brown hair curled at the ends as she stomped past Parker and picked up her wrench.

Parker smirked. "Lena, do you ever wear pants?"

"If you came here to insult me, you can leave." Lena snapped glaring at Parker with her yellow eye. "I'm busy and totally not in the mood."

Parker raised her hands in mock surrender. "You caught me, I loathe you because you don't wear pants." She waved two rolls of papers at the girl. "I'm here on Krimzon business."

"Taxes?"

"Vehicles and weapons."

Lena smirked. "Now you're speaking my language," She beckoned her to follow. "This way little girl." Parker rolled her eyes and followed. Above she could see her staff, they glared down at Parker. Their hatred for Krimzon Guards evident in their eyes, almost everyone hated the crimson colour that the guards wore. She blew them a kiss noting the four wheeled vehicles they were building –Torn would be interested in that. Lena collected a couple stacks of paper before Parker laid down one of the rolls. She smoothed it out and looked to Lena. A dangerous smirk came to the mechanic's lips. "Hellcat Cruisers?"

"My ever paranoid Baron wants the rebels to know who's in charge." Parker leaned on the table and smiled at the girl. "He's also willing to part with a couple as payment to Mizo?"

Lena crossed her arms, she tapped her chin before smiling. "Don!" She shouted. "Book me an appointment with Razer, we have much to talk about!"

"Alright." A response came from above.

"Anything else?" Lena asked handing the roll back to Parker.

"Just some weapon stuff Torn wants to talk about."

"Oh really?" She pointed to the other roll. "Is that it?" Parker nodded and handed it to Lena. "And you only have this copy on you?"

"Yes…" Parker said glaring tentatively at the girl, what was she planning?

Lena walked over to the furnace and tossed the roll into the fire, she turned back to Parker and gasped. "Oh no, I guess I'll have to go see Torn won't I?"

"I worked hard on that." Parker grumbled as Lena linked arms with her friend.

"Get over it." Lena said dragging Parker out of her garage. "I'm going to see Torn, boys. Be good." She shouted to the men above, she got a chorus of '_okay', 'alright'_ and_ 'can't make any promises'_ as the good friends left.

"Torn is doing testing today, he'll be too busy to talk to you." Parker said pulling her keys out of her pocket. "And I'm sure Amberly will be there making sure he's not disturbed."

"Yes because I'm terrified by Amberly, the same girl who broke her hand the first day of training." Lena got in the car. "That's why she works in the office with pens, clipboards and computers."

"The pen is mightier than the sword."

"And I've got a gun, what's your point?"

* * *

"How are you my love?" Lena asked patting Erol's cheek. The red haired man glared at Parker as Lena sauntered past him and waved to the newbies who had to be stunned seeing the infamous crime lady walking the halls by the looks their faces.

"You were supposed to drop the plans off, not bring her back." Erol snapped.

Parker shrugged. "Things change."

"Amberly!" Lena shouted. Parker stepped around Erol to see the two friends hug each other, just like old times. "I think you've grown a foot!"

"Shut up!" Amberly laughed. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see the all-powerful Torn!"

"Go. Away. Lena." Torn answered from above, Parker couldn't help but smile at his irritation. Torn tolerated Lena for the Baron's sake –and the fact that she made most of the prototypes from the Krimzon Guards' weaponry. If it were up to Torn, Lena would be on the next boat to Kras with a note pinned to her shirt banning her from Haven City. Torn climbed down from his lookout point, his headset around his neck as the lift moved down to pick up the latest trainee. Amberly hid her smile behind her clipboard while Erol stepped next Parker glaring at the crime lady, Lena on the other hand was obviously enjoying the attention and chaos.

"Nice to see you too, Torn." Lena smiled. "You and I need to talk weapons."

"I'm busy."

Lena snorted. "And I'm pretty sure your Captain is very capable of watching your trainees fail at the course."

"Fine." Torn spat, yanking his headset off and shoving it into Erol's hands with such force Parker winced when she heard the static. "Let's get this over with."

"It's not a root canal Torn," Lena sang out following the commander out of the training area. "It's business mixed with pleasure and I have something you desperately want." Parker saw Torn tense as Lena skipped past him, he gave an irritated sigh and followed the girl out.

"You're dismissed Amberly," Erol said snapping the headset on.

"But-But-Bu-"

"Parker's capable of reading roll call." Erol said snatching her clipboard and handing it to Parker. "Take the afternoon off."

Amberly blinked several times before looking at Parker, who just shrugged at her friend, she would love the afternoon off –she would even love an hour off. Parker ran her finger down the list, out of the twenty-five that trained only six had made it to private status. "Flint?" She called out, a boy with brown hair and big blue eyes stood up. He looked nervous as she motioned to the lift. "Go to the training bay, Erol and I will be watching." He nodded quickly and ran to the lift. Parker went to the outlook where Erol was sitting writing something on a pad of paper. When she came up he quickly hid it. "Are you writing poetry?" She teased.

"Yes. I'm declaring my undying love for Krew."

"I knew it." She dropped down in the chair next to him. "New kid, named Flint, sixteen years old, Slummer." She leaned onto the control panel and looked down on the kid. He looked so small in the training area, he looked around wide eyed at the fake boulders and the broken city Lena and Ashelin created -with some aid from herself and Torn. She glanced to Erol, as acting supervisor only he could start the training session. After a minute or so, he slammed his open hand on the button.

The city went dark, a couple flood lights went on around the city but other than that it was just Flint in the darkness. Flint moved deeper into the city, holding his gun by his head as he walked past broken buildings. Parker knew what was coming next and with building excitement she watched as the first Grunt broke out of its cage and raced for the boy. This was his first test, would he freeze or react? Flint was unaware of the danger he was in as he climbed over a wall, he had put his gun away and now was walking casually through the city. Parker released the next Grunt, she had faith Flint would handle himself and she'd want him on her unit. The first Grunt broke through a building getting Flint's attention. Unlike many others Flint rolled away from the debris and shot the Grunt in the head, he then turned and threw a pipe into the body of the second one.

Both Erol and Parker stared at the boy as the lights came on, she opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

"Dibs." Erol said looking to the female. "I want him on my squad."

She glared. "You have a full unit, I don't."

He shrugged. "That's your problem." He grabbed the microphone. "You passed Flint, now get up here." He looked to Parker. "Call the next newbie."

And she did. Reading off names and watching as boys of all ages walked into the training area, the small city changing at Erol's will. She watched as the boys cried like newborns, froze at the sight of different Metal Heads and random KG Bots that appeared at the press of a button. Parker could sense Erol was getting pissed. While Flint had impressed him, and even agreed to be on Erol's unit, no one had come even close to Flint. When a trainee entered the city and fell breaking his nose, Erol smashed his hand on the control panel making Parker jump. He got up and went to where the newbies sat. Parker followed, leaving her clipboard behind as the trainee came up on the lift holding his nose. Erol grabbed the boy by his shirt and threw him on the bench, he started to pace rubbing his temples.

"What was Torn thinking allowing any of you take this test." He growled. "I've seen the elderly fight better than any of you!" He bent to the level of one of the newbies. "Did you think this was going to be a fucking cake walk?! We're in a war, we only take the best. There's no way we'll be taking any of you if you can't even get off the lift without bleeding!" He shouted at the still bleeding newbie. He pulled out his gun and they all tensed, he turned and tossed the gun to Parker. "Get in there and show them how it's done."

"Excuse me?" Parker said throwing the gun back to him. "I'm the roll caller."

"Things change." He said throwing the gun back, he walked past her. "Get on that lift."

She stepped on the lift and it went down, when she looked up she saw the newbie's noses pressed against the glass. The lights went off and she heard the cages open, she looked up to Erol as he spoke through her communicator. _"Your objective is to find the Krimzon Guard flag, you have five minutes before the whole place goes up in flames."_

"That's right," She said walking forward. "Burn down the city, Ashelin and Lena will kill you."

_"Four minutes, 50 seconds. Smart ass." _ He responded.

Parker ducked into the shadows of a crumbling building, she leaned forward on the balls on her feet listening. There had to be at least twelve Metal Heads roaming the city, all looking for her. She started to move again, stepping gingerly over fallen bricks and broken windows. She climbed a ladder to a roof and spotted the flag on a roof nearby, it fluttered in the soft breeze. She considered getting there by rooftop jumping, the risk of running into a Metal Head was lower and she'd complete Erol's stupid test faster. Thankfully the next rooftop was close enough she could jump to it, she ran across and spun around to shot down a Ginsu, a small flying Metal Head. She sprinted across the roof and jumped onto the next roof but felt the roof give under her weight. She came crashing down, her head bouncing off a nearby step from a rundown staircase inside the building. Black spots appeared in her vision, she shook her head to clear them but they came back with a vengeance. Slowly she tried to stand, using the staircase to steady herself. She slowly made her way to the door, she pushed it open and heard a growl. Using the butt of her gun she shoved the Grunt back and shot it twice.

_"One minute, 59 seconds." _Erol said into her ear. Pushing away the pain in her head, she started to run. The flag was only three buildings away and she could make it on the ground. She took out each Metal Head she came across, some didn't even know she was there until it was too late. She kicked a door open and slipped inside, she climbed up the small staircase before opening the door to the roof. In the distance, she heard an explosion. She ran to the edge of the roof, a couple buildings were on fire and the ones closet to her were exploding into nothing but fiery bricks that rained down on her. She ran to the flag, grabbing the pole and yanking it out of the roof and jumping right off. She landed on her side but quickly got up ignoring the pain in her shoulder. Another lift was nearby, she slid into it and bounced off the wall as the whole city went up in flames. She could feel the cool effect of Eco, spreading through her body healing her head wound on the small cut on her lower back.

The newbies were clapping when she turned, they even gave a couple of whistles and cheered for her. She smiled as they ran to her asking all sorts of questions, but she walked past them to the male that stood by the windows. She shoved the flag into Erol's hands. "Suck it, Captain. I'm going home."

He nodded. "Better get your head checked first." He smirked at her. "You've really grown up since you joined the guard."

"Changed for the better or the worse?"

"Better." He said taking his gun back. "Much better." He watched her go, waving good bye the newbies that tried to follow her. She had truly changed, she wasn't the tiny little girl he watched in the arena years ago.

TBC…


	5. E is for Echoes

**_The ABC's of Beautiful Disasters_**

_Chapter Five: E is for Echoes_

She was very tempted to throw her communicator clear across her room. It was her day off and yet the device buzzed every five minutes. Someone was trying very hard to get in contact with her. She grabbed the unit and glared at Erol's face. He'd phoned her seven times since she woke up.

"What do you want?" She snapped.

"_Good morning to you to." _He answered. _"I have a mission for you." _

"It's my day off," She sat up running her fingers through her hair. "Take your mission and shove it."

"_It's a Black Mission for Krew. I need you to assist in escorting his men through the sewers, he has a shipment he doesn't want the Baron to know about."_

She tied her hair back. "Who's on the mission with me?"

"_Myself and Olivia."_

She groaned; the blonde was so useless. She'd rather wash Krew's clothes then work with Olivia. "Fine, where do you want to meet?"

"_Stadium, one hour, wear all black."_

* * *

As per to Erol's orders, Parker dressed fully in black. She found a pair of black jeans and a black turtleneck in the bottom of her dresser. The heels of her ankle boots had a deadly poison in them and she was careful not to active it as she paced outside of the stadium. She twirled her umbrella in her hands, counting the stones between herself and the doors. Her coat, also black, swished back and forth as she paced, the hem of the coat was already damp from the walk to the stadium. She loved working Black Missions. Even though they were deadly, they could pay her rent for three months –and she loved not being restricted by rules. She jumped when someone put their arm around her waist and lead her away from the stadium.

"You're being followed," Erol said quietly under his hooded jacket. She moved her umbrella to cover them both. Seeing Erol out of uniform was also a rare thing. His hood covered most of his face hiding his tattoos and bright hair. He also wore black jeans and a pair of spiked combat boots. She looked down at his gloved hand, his brass knuckles shone with polish as if they were new. Although she knew better, she'd seen him use them only a week ago. She looked up to him, his face was twisted with anger and worry. "And I've been following them since you left your apartment."

"You've been watching me?"

"Yes." He said keeping her close, he glanced over his shoulder. "I've heard rumours."

She sighed. "What kind of rumours?"

"The dangerous kind," He growled. "Rumours that I don't like hearing about my friends."

"Don't you think I should know about these rumours?"

"There's a bounty on your head."

She was speechless, who would want her dead?

"One of Mizo's cronies saw you in the arena," Erol said turning a corner. "Mizo wants you on his team and he's willing to pay top dollar for you… dead or alive."

She dared a look over her shoulder. She recognized the men. They worked for Lena, no, they worked for Mizo in Lena's garage. Erol tightened his grip on her as the men were joined by a couple more. She felt panic rising in her chest, what did these men want? She moved slightly closer to Erol and looked straight ahead. Erol, sensing her panic, gave her a tiny squeeze.

"Don't panic," He said moving towards a zoomer. "I won't let them take you. Get in the zoomer, we'll go to the Pumping Station and do our mission." She got into the zoomer and folded her umbrella up as he got in on the other side. "Torn's taking care of it."

"What can he do?" She asked as the zoomer started to move. "When Mizo marks someone they're never seen from again."

"Torn has his ways." Erol said turning out of the stadium section. "And I promised Amberly I'd keep you safe."

She didn't say anything. Why would Mizo want her? It didn't make any sense. He was into racers not fighters. Was he trying to build an army to go against the Baron and his guard? Why would he want her? Why not go after Ashelin or Torn or Erol? They were higher than her on the guard and much better fighters –and racers. Erol stopped the zoomer outside the Pumping Station, she jumped out and looked at the small section of towering buildings. The streets were starting to flood, the locals were running around trying to open the gutters. If the levees broke this small section of the city would be underwater. She paused. If this section would be underwater, that would include the sewers as well.

"Come on," Erol shouted as the doors leaving the city opened. She looked back at the city before following Erol out. They walked towards the edge of the Pumping Station, she spotted Krew's men standing around a couple large crates and a dolly carrying a statue. Olivia appeared out of the Sewers, Parker rolled her eyes at the girl. She was wearing a crop top and booty shorts, she ran over to Erol and Parker waving wildly.

"About time!" She laughed. "I've been waiting for, like, ever." She glared at Parker. "What are you doing here?"

"He asked me to come." Parker said pulling out her guns. "Shall we go?"

Erol nodded and motioned for the men to move. A few started pulling the crates along while the others whipped the Lurkers into motion pulling the statue. Parker followed behind the statue, watching for Metal Heads. She heard they were now in the Sewers, which didn't surprise her. The Metal Heads were squeezing them, slowly cutting off their resources, waiting until they were weak enough to attack. How much longer could they last? She ran ahead to catch up with Erol and the men that were pulling the crates. She looked to Erol, she could tell something was bugging him. There was something nagging at her too. She couldn't put her finger on it but it was there. A cold sense that slid down her spine, this didn't feel like a normal escort mission. A shot was fired behind her. She spun to shoot back but paused when she saw that all the men held guns, and they were pointing them at her.

"What the hell-" She started before Erol pushed her behind him.

"Stand down," He growled.

"We're getting paid twice." One of the men said stepping forward. "Krew paid us handsomely to steal this statue, but Mizo will pay us double for her." She backed up slightly, keeping her gun fixed on the leader with the cold dead eyes. His eyes made her shiver as he gave her a smile. "You're a pretty young thing. Ever been to Kras this time of year? It's beautiful." He looked over his shoulder. "Mizo didn't tell us she was so young, who wants to be first to have her?"

"I do!" Someone shouted in the back. "I love hearing virgins cry."

"Oh look," The leader laughed. "She's blushing. Mizo's a gentle man, my dear, but he does like his women to be… broken in." He stepped forward. "Come along, we don't have any time to waste."

Erol fired, making her jump. She looked to her left, Olivia stood with two pistols trained on the men behind their leader. It was shocking to know that Olivia, of all people, was on her side. "Come any closer and I'll blow your head off." Erol snarled, his rage clear in his voice.

The leader didn't even knowledge Erol, he just kept his eyes on Parker. "Do you really want your friends to die down here protecting you?" Mizo's men were ruthless, they've killed for much less and she's seen his handy work first hand. Most killed for fun, but these men were willing to kill for her –and yet didn't know why. She lowered her gun. "That's a good girl, you know it's for the best."

"Parker you move and I'll blow out your kneecaps."

"That makes me feel safe." Parker snapped at Erol.

"Tell you what," The leader smiled. "We'll give you twenty percent of our reward and we'll take the blonde off your hands too. Mizo could always use her in the experiments as well." He leaned forward looking directly at the girls. "Mizo wants Haven, and he'll do anything for-"

The sewers shook. Parker stumbled looking at Olivia, she felt it too. Her eyes were wide and she ran from the men, dropping her guns. Erol grabbed Parker's wrist and ran too, she tried to keep pace but it was hard in her heels. She glanced back at the men, they were running too but they weren't chasing them. She could hear it, a rush of water ready to kill anyone and everyone in its way. Erol pushed Parker to a ladder, she began to climb. When she got to the top she pulled Erol up. Seconds meant everything, where they were standing was already flooded. Suddenly, the platform they stood on was filling with water.

"Parker!" Erol shouted getting her attention, she turned to find he was halfway up another ladder. "Come on!" She ran to him and started to climb, her boot slipped but she held on tight as she climbed to the platform. She looked down again, she was soaked from her hips down. Thunder rattled the sewers, silencing Erol's voice and screams of the men that were washed away. Erol grabbed her turning her to face him. "-here!" was all she heard from him.

"I can't hear you!" She shouted as another wave came rushing down the tunnels. They moved to another set of ladders. Erol got there first and turned to grab Parker. She took his outstretched hand but let go when something pulled her down. She gasped, water filling her mouth, she resurfaced and heard someone shout her name before she was pulled under again by cold icy hands.

* * *

Erol crawled out of the sewers coughing, choking on the foul sewage water. He could hear shouting and cursing around him, people ran from the lower part of the Slums. The tiny area was flooding. He pushed himself up and crawled further from the edge of the opening. He forced himself to his feet and looked back at the section. It was slowly filling with water. Some people were being sucked into an unseen opening, screaming out as they went under the city. Erol pulled out his communicator. "We've got a situation in the Slums."

"_Sending lifeboats to the Slums," _Amberly answered. _"Draining some of the water into the Port," _She paused. _"Where's Parker?" _

"In the sewers," Erol said walking away from the flooding section. "I'm gonna need a boat and go down there, lots of civilians have been sucked down there."

"_I'll give you five." _Amberly answered back. _"There are also lots of guards MIA too, see if you can locate them and try to bring them back alive."_

* * *

She laid her head down on the rock she held onto. She could hear the cries of people, at first they were loud but now they were getting quiet –too quiet. She had made her way onto another platform before it collapsed and water came rushing in from above, she watched as people came rushing in as well. Her body followed the current moving her away from that area. She stopped herself by grabbing onto a rock. She coughed and cried out in pain. Her ribs were broken, it hurt to breathe let alone cough.

Her right leg stung, she was cut by something and the dirty water was making it hurt even more. Off to her left she heard someone cry out, a blood curling scream that echoed off every wall. She closed her eyes and just listened. People were begging Mar for help, asking the Precursors for mercy, calling out for loved ones. She felt out of place not crying out for someone, in her minds' eye she saw the last person she was with: Erol. Had he made it to the surface? What was he doing now; most likely barking orders at his men and yelling at anyone who crossed his path? She smiled at that and coughed, feeling a warm sensation in her mouth. She knew the metallic taste and spit the blood into the water.

Hours passed in complete darkness. Her body had started to shiver uncontrollably. She couldn't feel her legs and her mind started to play tricks on her, it was ready to give into exhaustion. To give up and sleep forever. The idea of death was a pleasant one. A quiet, peaceful idea that danced around her head. Granted drowning wasn't the way she wanted to go. The crushing feeling of the water pushing her deeper and deeper into a wake-less sleep. She gasped when she splashed into the water, she used all her strength to kick back to the surface. She grabbed the rock again, wincing at the pain that came from her fingers. Why was she so afraid of death? It was going to happen any minute now, her brain would trail off and she'd slip beneath the surface and-

A light flashed across the section, Parker looked up. A Krimzon Guard boat pulled in shining the lights on the bodies in the water. Every person the light touched as floating face down or missing part of their bodies. The murky waters were stained red. Another boat appeared, she climbed higher on the rock. Coughing and lying her head down on her arms. She could barely support herself as she closed her eyes. Any minute now.

"Parker…" A voice said. "Parker, come here," She opened her eyes. Erol stood on the boat, he held out one hand. She coughed and closed her eyes again. "Parker, are you okay?" He asked. She felt his warm hand on her arm, she opened her eyes again. "Come on," He said pulling her away from the rock. She stepped onto the small boat and collapsed into his arms. He was warm and dry. She could hear his steady heartbeat and his quick breathing. "Any survivors?" He asked.

"A few over here!" Someone shouted. "But not many."

"Collect the dead!" He shouted. She felt his hand press against her forehead and he cursed. "Shit. Parker, say something."

"Erol…" She whispered. "I don't feel well."

"I know," He answered. "I know."

TBC…

* * *

Author Note

So my good friend pointed out that I'm moving in a couple of days and might not be able to update, so she suggested I update twice. Also I really wanted to get this chapter done, it was a hard one to write but I still love it. Thanks for the review EcoSeeker.


	6. F is for Fever

**_The ABC's of Beautiful Disasters_**

_Chapter Six: F is for Fever_

She burned. The hot sensation started in her chest and quickly spread outward, it clouded her vision and slurred her speech. Her breath hitched and she struggled to get air. Her nails dag into her Captain's arm and let out a scream that stopped everyone, but it was Erol that kept moving and slammed her down on the bed. Her head rolled to the side and looked at the man on the bed beside her, he was seizing. His eyes rolled back into his head and he foamed at the mouth; a couple nurses held him down as another doctor injected him with a clear liquid and soon the foam turned red. He kept seizing, violently knocking his head back on the gunnery and throwing his arms around as the nurses backed aw-

"Parker!" Slim shouted forcing her to look at him. "Keep your eyes on us," He said motioning between him and Erol. She gave a small nod as Slim looked to a nurse "I need antibiotics and morphine." He took a pair of scissors and passed them to Erol. "Cut off her clothes, we need to get her out of these damp clothes."

"What's going on?" Erol asked cutting along her legs.

"Everyone is reacting to the water," He said flicking the air bubbles out of a needle. "Most of the flood waters in the sewers and the rest has tested positive for Dark Eco." He slid the needle into Parker's arm, she gasped and cringed away from the man. "The people that have been pulled from the sewers have died or are dying as we speak." He slipped a mask over Parker's face. "There's something else in the waters," He said looking at the other patients. Parker tried to turn her head to look, but couldn't see past Erol. She turned her head to look at Slim again, he passed a vile of blood off to a nurse. "Check this for the sickness, report back to me with the notes as soon as possible." Slim pointed to her chest. "Cut off her shirt."

"What?"

"You heard me," Slim snapped as a nurse ran up to him with a form, he quickly signed his signature. "Many people are dying from being sick _and _wet. She's both, so take her damn shirt off." He said running off with another nurse to the other side of the room. Erol pulled her top out of her jeans and he started cutting, ignoring the groan Parker gave as she bumped her IV line. He stopped when the scissors caught something, he pulled up her top further looking at the bejewelled belly ring. After freeing the ring he kept cutting, avoiding her bra and skin. Her clothes, as Slim expected, were soaked and smelt like old water. He stopped when he noticed something. Her breathing had been laboured since he pulled her out of the sewers, a wheezing that was normally followed by a gasp or her hacking up a lung. Now, he heard nothing. Her chest even stopped moving.

"Parker," He said pressing a finger against her neck, he felt nothing. "PARKER!" He shouted and started pressing on her chest. "Come on," He hissed, pinching off her nose and breathing into her mouth. "Breathe, damn it."

"Move!" Slim shouted shoving Erol away from the gunnery. "Paddles! I need paddles!" Everyone listened to the whine of the machine before Slim looked around. "Clear." He shocked her, a nurse ran up and pressed her fingers against her neck.

"We got something!"

"You," Slim snarled at Erol. "Out. Now."

* * *

Three days after the Sewers flooded, it was still raining. The city was in a panic. People ran around seeking shelter from the ongoing storm and the rising flood waters. Erol wasn't surprised when he got phone calls to evacuate the Bazaars or went on random recuse missions to the newly declared Water Slums. The Baron already started building small houses on the skeletons of the old buildings and his people. Every day Erol walked to the Fortress from his suite in the small housing unit that the Krimzon Guard owned, but today he left the Fortress and went to the small hospital across the road. He didn't bother checking in; he walked past the nurses and the few doctors that were treating patients that lined the halls. Many people were sick from the water and others were injured from the flooding. He ignored the cries and moans from the citizens and went for the fifth floor, where the Krimzon Guards were.

At least a hundred Krimzon Guards were injured during the flooding, including several that died from the poison that was in the water. He passed by quietly, giving small nods to his fellow comrades and officers. He stopped at the room Parker was in, he considered knocking but instead opening the door and walked in. A mountain of blankets covered someone on the bed, they were shaking and making whimpering noises. He stepped into the room and pulled out his gun pointing at the person behind the door. He glared at Lena as she flicked the light on.

"How's it going Erol?"

"What are you doing here?" He snapped.

"Visiting my best friend, what are _you_ doing here?"

Erol hadn't asked himself that question. What was he doing here? Other Krimzon Guards, he knew longer, laid a few rooms down. His friends from his old slumming days, boys that he spent hours with training to join the guard. He hadn't known Parker that long, just a little over two years. He looked to the mountain when it moved, instead of seeing Parker, Amberly moved the blankets away and gave a big yawn.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing sweetie," Lena answered. "Go back to sleep."

"'kay," Amberly said pulling the blankets over her head.

"Where's Parker?"

"Over here," Parker walked out from the small bathroom, she passed another bed with wrinkled sheets and abandoned pillows. She wore a white t-shirt and black leggings, she pulled an IV pole that was connected to her arm. She sat on the couch near the window, she pulled her legs up and smiled at the red-head. "What's up?"

"I need to talk to you."

"She's sick," Lena snapped. "Let her rest."

"I'll be forty minutes."

"You get ten minutes."

"Half an hour."

Lena glared at him. "Fine."

He walked past the crime lady and sat on the couch beside Parker. Up close he noticed a tube in her left nostril that was taped to her cheek and went behind her ear.

"I wasn't keeping my food down," She said when she noticed Erol looking at it. "Slim said he'll take it out tonight or tomorrow in the morning. You'd didn't come here to talk about my tube."

He held out a file. "Torn's been looking into your bounty, but he's been unsuccessful."

Parker flipped through the file. "I think you brought the wrong file, this is about my men." She read the file carefully. The last of her older men had been killed, and the newbies she got only a week ago were dead as well. The Wolves, including the new Pup, were all alive and working, temporally under Erol's care. She closed the file and looked to Erol. "How's the outside world?"

"We have a new Water Slums."

"I heard about that," She motioned to the newspaper on the small table. "Amberly's been keeping me up to date."

"Speaking of Amberly," Erol said looking to the blankets. "Why isn't she working?"

"She's been working since the night before the flood." Parker said as Amberly rolled over and let out a cough. "She's working on a project for Torn and dealing with the aftermath from the flood, she came here to visit but ended up passing out on my bed the second she sat down." She passed Erol the file. "Let her sleep. What happened to the rest of Krew's men?"

"Washed away." Erol said with a smirk.

"You found them?" She picked lint off her leg.

"No."

"That means they're still out there."

"No one could survive those waters."

"I did."

* * *

Parker threw her blankets off. She was too uncomfortable to sleep. Slim took out her arm IV but let the tube in her nose. The annoying tube rubbed her nose raw and itched every time she moved or breathed through her nose. On top of her nose troubles her mind kept racing back to the night in the Sewers. The time she spent in the waters was a dark and lonely time, her mind went back to that place whenever she was alone. She tried hard to keep it from the dark waters but it would go, quickly, to the men threatening her. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the man's cold eyes and heard the laughter at the idea of raping her.

She got out of bed and left her room. She needed to escape, go somewhere where she couldn't think about the floods, the men, and Mizo's bounty. She took the elevator to the floor above. She walked past the nurse's station giving a small wave to the man that slept behind the desk, she chose not to wake him this time. She dragged her fingers along the cool walls until she made it to the small nursery by the glass window. Inside a volunteer nurse feed a baby from a bottle. Parker tapped on the glass and the nurse looked up, she smiled when she saw Parker and motioned to the door. Parker went to the door and peeked inside.

"Hey Nave," Parker smiled. "Where are they?"

"In the next room over," The nurse, Nave, answered rocking the baby girl in her arms. "I'll be over in a sec." Parker nodded and went to the room down the hall. She knew if she wasn't a Krimzon Guard, she'd be a Krimzon Guard Wife. Most of the Krimzon Guard didn't marry but the ones that did have amazing wives that understood their commitment to the city and the guard. Parker only met a couple wives that didn't understand what their husbands did and refused to accept what it meant to be a KG wife. Inside four women sat around a table talking and eating.

"Hi," Parker said stepping inside. Skye was the first one up, she ran to the girl and wrapped her arms around her husband's Lieutenant as best she could with her full belly. Skye used to be one of Parker's Wolves but married a Wolf when she found out she was pregnant. She put both her hands on Skye's stomach and smiled. "How much longer?"

"I'm late." Skye laughed. "I'm getting induced tomorrow afternoon." She pushed her honey locks out of her face. "I'm so nervous!"

"You should be!" Clove said from her spot by the window. "It fucking hurts." Parker rolled her eyes and sat down. Clove already had a son with an unknown soldier, this time around she was having a set of twins with a sergeant that worked closely with Krew. Clove picked at her arms and tapped her foot nervously.

"Don't scare her," Val snapped. Val was Count Veger's younger sister. The young socialite sat with a magazine on her lap, her picture on the front even though the city was drowning. She placed a protective hand on her swollen stomach and smiled. "It's going to be a lovely affair."

Clove laughed hysterically. "You're pushing a watermelon out of your body, let's see how pretty you'll look after that."

"You're disgusting!" Val snarled.

Clove kept laughing as Nave walked in with another pregnant woman waddled in behind her. Parker recognized the woman as Zara, a council member and a Krimzon Guard higher than herself but lower than Torn. She'd see Zara around Torn's office picking up files and leaving stuff behind for the man. Zara gave a small nod to Parker before settling beside the dark-haired girl.

"Can you feed him?" Nave asked Parker, she held out a small blue bundle. "His mother passed away and he needs to be feed." Parker's hands trembled as she took the bundle, she held him close as Nave left the room. Parker stared down at the baby as the other women chatted on. She held a new life in her hands, a new Havener that belonged to Baron Praxis. When would he know about the war that was happening outside his windows? Nave had said his mother was dead, he'd most likely go to an orphanage and have to deal with the hard truths of the unforgiving world he was born into. She leaned close to his face and sniffed him. He smelt new and pure, untouched by chemicals or sins. She looked up when Nave came back in with another blue blanket, she passed Parker a bottle. She put the nipple into the baby's mouth and smiled as he started drinking. "He doesn't have a name yet." Nave said rocking the baby she brought back with her.

"Really?"

"His mother didn't name him and his father's in the wind." Nave smiled patting her baby's butt. "I need something to put on the birth certificate."

Parker looked down at the newborn. His brown eyes stared up at her with wonder, but Parker could tell he knew she wasn't his mother. His cheeks were puffy and red with a dash of freckles on his nose. A small tuff of brown hair was on his head, she smoothed it down and looked to Nave. "Maddox." Parker answered. "Name him Maddox."

Nave smiled. "I'll do it when I get back to my office."

"I can't wait to meet my baby," Skye hugged her stomach. "I wonder what she'll be like."

"She'll be as pretty as you." Parker said putting the bottle down. "And she'll be spoiled like a proper Wolf baby."

Skye gave a low howl as the other women rolled their eyes. Parker put the bottle down and started to rock Maddox. Slowly his eyes began to shut and soon he was sleeping in her arms, he took her middle finger and held it. Looking down at this baby she didn't have to think about work or other the bounty. If she could, she'd adopt him in a heartbeat but she was too young. She laid Maddox in the small bassinet and took her finger back. She got up and said her goodbyes, promising the women she'd visit again tomorrow. She started down the hallway touching her nose, even with Green Eco her nose burned and irritated her. If she had to, she'd yank it out tomorrow.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

Parker sighed. While a few nurses knew who she was there was still a small group that knew nothing and saw her as a crazy wanderer. She turned to show the nurse her wrist band but when she locked eyes with the man, she panicked. The man from the Sewers stood in front of her, his cold eyes drilling into her as he took a step forward. Her hand went for her gun but only found skin and the top of her leggings.

"Found you," He chuckled. "I went to your room but your bed was empty, but I knew I'd find you wandering." He showed her his gun. "Come along now, I have a ticket to Kras with your name on it." Parker turned on her heel and ran. In the quiet hospital all she heard were her feet padding on the tiled floor, she didn't hear the man following her or a gun shot. She got to the stairs when she heard a scream, followed by another and a couple cries from babies. She turned and ran back, only stopping when she saw the sleeping nurse now dead on the desk with a slit neck. She shook the image from her head and kept down the hallway looking in rooms as she went.

"Parker!" Skye screamed from the stairwell, her voice echoing down to where Parker had stopped to look in the room she was in minutes ago. She went to the stairwell and shoved the huge door open, below she could see the men carrying a passed out Val, Zara and Nave, Clove followed calmly without looking at the man who held her arm while Skye kicked and screamed.

"Skye!" Parker shouted as an arm pulled her from the railing and pressed her up against the wall. She glared at the cold eyed man as he pressed the gun to the underside of her chin. He took out a needle and stabbed her arm with such force she gasped.

"Boss," A man said from the other side of the door. "We've got the babies and all the expecting mothers we could find."

"Let's move out then," He laughed yanking Parker up by her arm. "Tell the doctors to prep this one for surgery." He tossed her to a man on the stairs, he lifted her onto his shoulders. She shivered when they left the hospital, the rain had stopped but it left a cool, icy feeling in the air. She looked up at the towering Fortress before falling into a dreamless, almost endless, sleep.

TBC…

* * *

Author's Note

So the move went... okay. It could've been smoother but it's done now. It was fun trying to write this chapter, I think I wrote three drafts before I just forced myself to write. I would've updated earlier but Game of Thrones was on... enough said. Luv (thanks EcoSeeker for the review)


	7. G is for Grim

**_The ABC's of Beautiful Disasters_**

_Chapter Seven: G is for Grim_

Erol jumped awake, hand on his pistol ready to kill the intruder. For the second time in a week he found Lena on the end of his pistol. The crime lady had been visiting him a lot since Parker went missing with stupid requests and outrageous demands. Lena rolled her eyes and held up a file for the man to see. "I want to hire you."

"I work for the Baron, not wannabe crime girls."

She held up an envelope. "But you do run Black Missions and I'm willing to pay top dollar for what I'm looking for." Erol snatched both the envelope and the file, he dropped the envelope heavy with money into his desk and opened the file. The objective was simple: find and bring back Parker Drake.

"Can't do it," He said tossing the file on his already cluttered desk. While he wanted to go after Parker, Baron Praxis kept putting the mission off until two months had passed by. He was sure she was dead already along with the women and newborns that were kidnapped as well. The Baron didn't want to waste the man power and money on a mission to find bodies –if there were bodies left to bring home. "The Baron's ordered us not to go."

"Black Missions are different," Lena smirked. "And plus, I'm sure you'll find my starting fee to be a nudge in the right direction." Erol opened the envelope and his jaw dropped, there had to be at least over five thousand dollars in it. He looked at Lena, she was looking at her nails before smiling. "And if you bring her back alive I'll triple the amount."

"Where'd you get this money?"

She shrugged. "That's for me to know."

Erol rubbed his temple. "Aren't you going against your employer? Mizo's the one who took Parker in the first place."

"I know that." She dropped in one of chairs in front of his desk. "That's why this money and mission are coming from Amanda Hold, a friend from Kras City with a special interest in the politics of Haven and Kras."

"Did I ever tell you, your alias sucks?"

"Not recently."

"So who's on this mission?"

"Ashelin, the Wolves, Amberly, Slim and his assistant… and," She twirled a lock of her hair around her finger. "My big brother."

"No." Erol snarled. "I will race butt ass naked then work with Dash."

"Do whatever you want naked," Lena waved him away. "Just wear clothes in my presence."

* * *

The idea of working with Dash made Erol's stomach turn, it made his fist curl and boiled his blood when he saw the dark skinned man coming towards him with Amberly trailing behind him. Erol leaned against the transporter and looked at Ashelin as she loaded the last of Slim's medical equipment. Slim bent down beside Erol and smirked.

"Oh look it's your BFF."

"Shut up Slim." Erol snapped.

"Think of it this way, the faster we finish this mission the faster you'll be back here enjoying your 'Dashless' time."

Erol smirked. He liked the idea of that.

"Are we ready?" Amberly asked with a giant smile on her face, she bounced with excitement.

Ashelin jumped down from the other transporter. "Where's Torn?"

"He's not coming." Erol said flipping his hood up trying to cover his hair. Lena had suggested, and even bought, black hair dye for him but he refused to use it.

"Why not?"

"Torn needed a solid alibi for tonight." Dash answered in his clipped Wastelander accent, he climbed into the transporter and helped Amberly into the vehicle. "Lena's taking care of that."

"Well let's make them proud." Slim said with a smile and went to sit. Erol went to the other transporter and got in beside the Wolves who wore all black and were shining their guns. It took three uncomfortable hours to get to Kras City, the ride was boring and bumpy. When they made it to the outskirts of the city Erol felt a familiar chill run down his spine. This was a Black Mission which meant no rules, no questions asked; and he loved the idea of the kill. Sure finding Parker was a bonus that came with an amazing price tag but the fact he could kill a couple Kras City losers was going to be the highlight of this mission.

The transporters landed on the small medical building in the east side of Kras near the racing tracks. The Wolves got out first, running from the transporters and disappearing into the shadows. Erol's ear piece buzzed to life as roll call was called and Amberly gave objectives.

"_From what Amanda Hold has given us, Mizo's men are planning something to do with Eco. Find all the information you can on theses Eco Projects. Also keep an eye out for the kidnapped Haveners."_ Erol rolled his eyes and ran to an open vent. _"Erol wait for Dash." _He growled as he heard the man running behind him. Erol opened the vent and jumped inside, he heard the metal clank as Dash dropped in behind him. He crawled forward looking through grates but saw nothing but patients laying in beds, nurses and doctors having sex on couches, and doctors elbow deep into patients.

"This is where I leave you," Dash said from behind Erol. He looked back at the man as he crawled down another vent shaft. "Amanda has a small project for me to do, meet you on the roof in an hour."

Erol nodded and kept crawling, his drop point was approaching quickly. It was the section of the hospital that was off limits, even Lena, or Amanda, wasn't allowed to enter when she came to visit. He stopped just inside the doors of the restricted area as sirens started to go off. They'd been detected but he knew that Parker's Wolves would keep them busy. He dropped down at shot the guard in front of him in between the eyes, he collapsed to the ground and blood poured from his mouth in crimson rivers. Erol ran, shooting at killing everything that got in his way or crossed his path. He was sure the hallways would be painted red by the time his team left.

**CODE RED. CODE RED. CODE RED.**

He rolled his eyes. One of the Wolves must've set the damn building on fire, he wasn't shocked. The section was confusing and he spent most of his time back tracking or avoiding the bloody paths he took before. He stopped at the first door he saw, it was slightly ajar. Erol approached it slowly, he inched inside and looked around holding his gun at eye level ready to shoot anything that moved. Someone jumped on his back but he flipped them easily and pinned them to the ground, an empty needle rolling out of the person's hand. He fired but missed on purpose. For a second he was shocked to see that she was alive. How did she survive this long? Her hair was wild and she wore a white hospital shirt and matching bottoms.

"You're a jerk." She snarled at him.

"You tried to stab me with a needle."

"I thought you were a doctor." She said picking up her needle. "I was going to stab it in his eye."

He held out a pistol. "Or you can take this and we can get moving."

"We're not leaving without my son," She said grabbing the gun and peeked out the door. "Follow me." She slipped out the door and started to run. Her bare feet slapping against the floor as she ran down the halls; Erol shot at a guard that ran around the corner. He looked to Parker as she turned to look at him, he moved to follow her when he had to stop. Did she say son? She couldn't have had a baby, she wasn't pregnant the last time he say her. He shook the thought when he heard gun fire. He turned the corner, he found a dead guard and a patient dying from a gunshot wound to the chest. Parker stepped over their bodies and walked towards a door. Erol followed ignoring the pleas from the patient to help. Parker threw open the double doors, Erol ran in beside her. A man stood over a crib, he startled at the sight of Parker.

"Miss Drake, what are you doing out of your room?"

"Burn in Hell." She said firing at the man right between the eyes. He dropped to the ground, blood pooling out of his head. Parker turned to Erol. "Check to see if any of them are alive." She ran to the first set of four cribs with red markers on them. Erol went to the blue ones, four babies, two girls and two boys, all dead. Their skin was tinted a sickly shade of blue that didn't come with death. Tear splatters were on their bedding along with drops of Blue Eco. He moved to the next set marked with yellow. These newborns were a disgusting yellow, their skin bubbled and some of the blusters were popped. In the IV pole was Yellow Eco bubbling as it kept pumping into the dead newborns.

Erol turned and threw up. He used the wall to hold himself up as he phoned Amberly. "Found the newborns."

"_You did!? That's amazing, where are you I'll send Dash to help you. Maybe a couple of the Wol-"_

"Don't send anyone." Erol said wiping his mouth, he looked to Parker as she stared down into a purple crib. "They're dead… they're all dead."

"_What?"_

"They're dead, Amberly. What don't you understand about that fucking statement?!" There was silence as Erol walked over to Parker. He touched her shoulder. "Come on we have to go." She shook her head and touched the face of a newborn. The babies in the purple cribs were the colour of death and creatures of nightmares. Their hands were distorted and clawed, blood stained their bedding and their bodies. Erol could tell they died in agony, a horrible death that could've been avoided. Parker picked up one of the boys and held his limp body to her chest, she choked on a cry before dropping to her knee and rocked the baby. "Parker get a hold of yourself, we need to get out of here." He was about to pull her to her feet when he heard a moan from the other room. He followed the noise to a door off the main room, inside were the missing mothers; all of them dead. He went to a table and picked up a file it was labelled _ECO PROJECTS: GREEN. _He flipped through it looking at all the women's faces and stopped at Parker's, he picked up the other files all labelled with different colours of eco. He moved from the room to where Parker and the babies were.

He found Parker on a gunnery looking at the babies; she wasn't holding the little boy anymore. "Let's go."

"I'm not going to make it to Haven."

"Yes you will."

"I'm not going to make it out of this damn… hospital." She got off to the gunnery and stumbled to one of the cribs. "I'm sorry Maddox… I should've worked harder…" She touched the boy's face. "I should've…" She collapsed to the ground and coughed, blood staining her hands and the front of her shirt.

Erol ran to her as she passed out. He stopped when he noticed a growing stain on her stomach, he yanked up her shirt and stared at her stomach. There had to be three cuts. One that was fully healed, one was infected and bleeding slightly, the last one bled through its broken staples. His stomach turned. "What the hell is going on?" He picked her up and ran out of the room, glancing back at the newborns and the dead doctor before running out of the room. He could smell the smoke as he managed to get out of the secured section through another set of doors into a hallway of chaos. Doctors, nurses, patients, guards and civilians ran from the thick smoke that filled the top of the hallway, he joined the chaos unnoticed by the guard as they ran into the streets. He turned and looked at the building. Flames burned the upper levels and windows broke from the heat, raining glass down on the people outside.

Three men appeared beside Erol, dressed all in black. He saw the smirks from the Wolves as they calmly walked away from the burning hospital. He saw the transporters nearby. The rest of the Wolves ran to meet them looking over Parker, they talked in low whispers as they followed Erol. Slim jumped out of the first transporter and motioned them inside. He looked at her stomach too and paled, but kept his lunch down unlike Erol.

"She might need a shot of Green Eco, just help the eco in her system." He said to his assistant. The girl passed Slim a huge needle a glowing green needle. He searched for a vein before slipping it in.

"I don't want Eco," Parker snarled. "I told you to let me die."

"Lena would have my head if I left you behind to die." Erol smirked. "Plus I want that big pay day."

"Whatever."

Dash hit the side of the transporter. "Let's get out of here."

"_Ten seconds to departure." _Amberly said over the intercoms; four of the Wolves jumped onto the transporter Parker, Erol, Slim and Amberly were on.

Parker took Erol's hand and squeezed it tightly. "What are you doing?"

"You insist on keeping me alive than you get to deal with the pain as well." She said through her teeth.

* * *

Parker opened her eyes to the sound of the rain. It was soft and gentle against the window of the infirmary. She was about to roll over when she felt it. The pain from her stomach, emptiness of what they took from her. She sat up quickly and held her stomach, each of the incisions were healed now but left three ugly scars behind. She couldn't do it. She couldn't live this life knowing what they had down to her. She grabbed the pen on the nightstand and thrust the pen downward but stopped above her skin. Where had the pen come from?

She looked to her left. Sitting back in a plastic orange chair was Erol, sound asleep, hand on his gun. What was he doing here? She dropped the pen and it rolled off the bed, when it fell to the floor Erol jumped awake and glared at Parker.

"What are you doing?"

"I was going to kill myself."

He rolled his eyes. "Now you're a suicide risk? Great."

She glared at him. "You'd be one too if you knew what they did to me."

He got up and went to the small dresser in the corner, he came back with a couple of files and dropped them on her lap. A couple pictures slid out, pictures of Zara giving birth to a healthy and beautiful baby girl she didn't get to name. Parker saw her in the blue cribs a week later. She picked up a photo of Skye's dead body and her dead daughter being pulled from her stomach, Skye was strong but she wasn't strong enough to deal with labour and the Red Eco treatments. She dropped the photo and looked to another one, it was of Val sickly and pale nursing her son. After his birth they started the Blue Eco treatments on both of them, she found out she was pregnant again only a week ago. She couldn't look at the photos of Nave, she had seen the nurse in person as she died when her body rejected all of the Ecos.

She picked up the photo of herself, she looked sick and so pale. On the back was writing. _"After a month of being at the hospital, and given hormonal drugs, the team decided to remove and freeze Parker Drake, Green Eco patient's, eggs for artificial insemination in fellow subjects. After the eggs are removed the team will conduct more experiments on subject to see outcome of the Green Eco Channeler._" Parker tossed the picture to the bed and covered her head. She could hear the voices of the men as they tried to strap her down, she screamed and kicked before she felt the cool sensation of the morphine in her body. They got the eggs they wanted weeks before but they wanted to see her healing, how she'd react when she had to heal under different Ecos. They told her it was all for the good of Kras City.

She looked to Erol. "Why are you showing me this?"

"Because it gave me an idea."

She glared at him. "You're a sick bastard."

"I wasn't planning on using newborns or pregnant women." He snapped. "Our jails are overflowing with prisoners." He smirked. "And that Eco Channelers supposed to fall from the sky soon."

She groaned and fell back on her pillow, she pushed her morphine button. "Go away Erol." She crossed her arms over her face.

"If you're in pain I can get you something stronger."

"I'm fine with morphine." She whispered. "I just want to sleep."

"Okay," He said sitting down. She looked over at him and took his gloved hand. She squeezed it as her vision blurred, the medication was strong. "You're going to be fine."

She shook her head. "I'm never going to be fine… either are you."

He shrugged. "I was pretty messed up to begin with."

She smiled. "They tried to break me."

"I know."

"I fought hard… but now," She sighed looking at him. "I don't have the strength."

"Sleep Parker," He said leaning back in his chair. "Just go to sleep."

TBC…

* * *

Author's Note

Soo this happened. I'd been thinking about this chapter for a long time and couldn't wait to get it written, edited and uploaded on here. I hope everyone enjoyed. Thanks EcoSeeker for the review. See you all next time.


	8. H is for Hothouse

Author's Note

So I'm happy to update this chapter, it's the thing that gets the ball rolling. A song goes along with this chapter towards the end after the drinking game, it's called _Hothouse _by 78violet (or Aly&AJ). Also jump over to the next chapter, Indelible, because I was doing laundry and bored. Thanks to EcoSeeker for the review.

* * *

**_The ABC's of Beautiful Disasters_**

_Chapter Eight: H is for Hothouse_

"I'm bored!"

"You almost died," Erol slammed his laptop close. "You'll stay in that bed until Slim says you can get out."

Parker dropped the pillow on her face. "Then give me something to do." She said into her hospital issued pillow. "I'll do anything." She peeked out from underneath her pillow at the red-head. He sat at the small desk near the window typing. Her Captain came to her room almost every day to work on a small project her called the Dark Warrior Project. When he started to talk about it her eyes glazed over and she thought about what she'd do when she got out of the hospital wing. She thought she'd be back on the street in a day or so but Slim was dragging out her rehabilitation saying she needed rest or that she needed to put weight on. Last week she had a staph infection on her arm, but with the medication she took it cleared up quickly. Now she was cooling her heels, writing her report about Kras City and researching Dark Eco for Erol in old textbooks.

Erol opened his mouth when the door opened. Slim came in with Lena and Amberly trailing behind him, Amberly carried Parker's old clothes. Parker screamed with glee and jumped off the bed.

"I'm done?"

Slim nodded. "Everything looks good." He unhooked her morphine drip. "You said there's no more pain and you won't shut up about getting out of here. You should take it easy though." He crossed his arms and looked to Erol. "She's your problem now."

"Yippy!" Parker shouted pulling her hospital shirt off and tossed it on her bed followed quickly by her shorts. She snatched her regular clothes and yanked on her shorts as Amberly gasped.

"Parker!"

"What?" She asked pulling on her tank top.

"Erol's sitting right there!"

Parker glanced over her shoulder. Erol had his head down typing on his laptop, she smirked and pulled her jacket on. "He's fine." She pulled her red socks and boots on. She strapped her knife on her leg and tied her hair back as Lena tossed her communicator, gun mods, and pistols on the bed beside her. "It's not like he's never seen a half-naked girl before."

"It happens more than you think."

Amberly blushed. "Can we please change the subject?"

"Parker, I want you to come see my new baby!" Lena hooked her arm around Parker's shoulders. "Straight from Kras City."

"If this is another kidnapping attempt I'm going to kill you."

"Kidnapping?" Lena gasped. "Why would I want to kidnap you? I have access to you anytime I want." She frowned. "I'm surprise Mizo didn't ask me to kidnap you instead of sending his men."

"Don't give him any ideas." Parker glared as she followed the girl out of the room. Parker glanced back as Slim filled out a couple of sheets of paper work and handed them to Amberly, while Erol kept typing.

Parker stepped outside and spun taking a deep breath of Haven air. Although the stale smoky air of Haven City made many sick Parker loved it compared to the clean lemony hospital air that she'd been breathing for the last couple of weeks. She ran after Lena as she grabbed a two person zoomer, Parker itched to get back in the driver seat but she knew that Lena would die before she'd let Parker drive again –she still hadn't forgiven her for crashing the zoomer into the wall.

It only took the girls five minutes to get to Lena's garage, the streets were oddly clear for an afternoon. Either way Parker enjoyed the fast ride letting the wind blow in her hair and looked at all the freshly painted buildings in the Bazaar. Both girls jumped out and made their way into the Lucky Lena's garage, Lena flipped the sign from closed to open and flicked on a couple of lights. Parker paused when she heard the chorus of _hellos_ from above. Lena's men worked for Mizo. She took a step forward and glanced upwards, the men looked down at her before going back to work on the prototype Hellcat Cruisers.

Lena pulled herself up to a higher platform, she looked down and smiled. "The men won't be bothering you."

"Why not?" She asked pulling herself up on to the platform as well, she winced as a flicker of pain rushed up to her brain from her stomach. Maybe Erol had been right, she should take it easy. Parker held her stomach as she followed Lena down the small plank, a couple of men nodded at Lena as she passed.

"Mizo took you off his hit list a couple of days ago," She said pulling on a rope. "Hey can you help me with this?" Parker took the rope and pulled. "Anyways, Mizo got what he wanted from you and those women. Although he wanted you dead he thinks no one will want you because you're damaged merchandise."

Parker touched her stomach again. She had to agree with the crime boss, she was damaged. Broken beyond repair, she had nightmares almost every night and if she didn't sleep she would stay up for hours on end. She knew Erol thought she was insane, she'd wake up screaming or trying to breathe through another panic attack. She dropped her hand and looked to Lena. "What did you want to show me?"

"This!" She yanked the sheet off the zoomer; a racing zoomer. It was painted black and white with bright pops of lime green. The seat was checkered black and green, on the front was a three-point crown with a small clover underneath it and the symbol of the House of Drake. Parker smirked and touched the smooth metal. "I want you to race for my team."

"Will you marry me?"

Lena laughed and hugged Parker. "I'll take that as a yes!"

"What are you going to call it?"

"The Pretty Princess?" Lena smirked.

"I think the Cutie Mobile is better."

Both girls laughed, Lena leaned on the railing. "But in all seriousness. I need a name for it to enter to races."

Parker touched her family's seal. Three circles sitting beside each other with a small green diamond in the middle, although the zoomer didn't have an actual diamond –she'd never seen her family's seal with a diamond anyways. She smirked and glanced to Lena. "Call it Sucker Punch."

"I love it." Lena smiled.

"PARKER!"

Lena jumped down from the platform and threw a wrench at the screamer. Torn easily dodged the weapon as he stalked through the garage; Parker stayed where she was, Torn eye's were set to kill. "Hello Commander, how are you today?" Lena asked but he ignored her, stomping towards Parker and glaring up at her.

"Get down here."

"You're going to hurt me," She teased. "You have that murderous look in your eyes."

"Damn straight I'm going to hurt you!" He shouted. "What were you and Erol thinking? How dare you go over my head and straight to the Baron with this project! When you get down here I'm going rip you to shreds! Not only is this project a bad idea its inhumane, unrealistic, and dangerous!"

She blinked. "If I'm going to die I'd like to know what I'm dying for."

"Dark Warrior Project."

Parker's vision went dark for a second. She told Erol all about the Eco Projects that Mizo's men had conducted, one of the Ecos they used was Dark but every subjected died within seconds of the treatment; even when the doctors mixed different Ecos with the Dark one they still died painfully and slowly. He suggested using a channeler since they could move Eco through their bodies freely, Parker agreed and did more research on it as Erol searched for people who were tolerate to Eco. Parker leaned against the railing to hold herself up. "What about the Dark Warrior Project?"

"You got approval."

"Why'd you approve it?"

"I didn't!" Torn shouted. "Erol went over my head and straight to the Baron! You're little _project_ starts tomorrow."

"Torn," Parker whispered. "I didn't know he would go through with it… it was just talk."

"Well you're listed as a partner along with Slim, Dash, Veger and Lena."

"What?!" Lena shouted. "I didn't agree to work with Erol!"

"The Baron assigned you." Torn slammed a roll of prints on a table. "Here's the blueprint for your torture device." He glared up at Parker before stomping out.

Lena picked up the prints. "You know what we need to do?"

"Besides kill Erol?" Parker grumbled. "Or sticking my head in a hole?"

"We need to celebrate."

"Celebrate what? The fact that Torn hates us?"

"Torn already hates me." Lena smiled. "I was talking about the fact you're out of the hospital. Let's go drinking!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you always get drunk."

Lena snorted. "I do not."

"You were almost arrested!"

"You're being dramatic."

Parker groaned. "At least bring Amberly, she can babysit you."

"Who did you think was going to drive us home?"

* * *

Krew had special nights planned for the city throughout the week. Mondays were resevered for players, Tuesdays were for the gamblers, and Wednesdays belonged to the women but Thursdays were the nights for the Krimzon Guard a gift to keep the guards of his back. Krew poured free booze all night for those in crimson and charged top dollar for those who weren't. Parker flashed her ID card showing her status in the guard, Amberly did the same and getting a black X on her hand naming her a designated driver. Lena didn't flash her card or play the bouncer, she flashed him a smile and he stepped aside letting her in; the perks of being a crime lady.

As soon as the girls entered the club, Lena disappeared into the mass of people and Amberly hurried off to the bathroom leaving Parker to push her way to a booth. After a minute or so she couldn't find a booth, every one of them was filled. She gave a sigh. They could drink at the bar but it left them exposed from behind to be grabbed by randoms.

"Miss Drake." Parker turned and smiled at Flint. She loved his tattoos. A blood-red circles on his face and a line going down his nose. "Are you looking for a booth?"

"There aren't any, I was thinking of sitting at the bar with my friends."

"I have a booth," He said turning quickly. Parker followed pushing through the people to find a booth with Slim, Torn, and Erol sitting together. She paused and looked to Torn as he looked away from her, she avoided looking to Erol. "I found her." Flint said proudly. "What would you like to drink?"

"Jell-O shooters of course!" Lena shouted stepping up beside Parker. "Green for you."

"You're so original." Parker growled playfully.

"Jell-O shooters," Erol chuckled. "Such a girly drink."

"Excuse me?" Lena snapped. "Did he just call us girly?"

"He did." Amberly smiled sipping her pop.

"Amberly." Parker snarled. She did not want to break up a fight between her best friend and her captain.

"That's it Slummer," Lena sat in front of Erol. "Let's play, name your game."

Erol rolled his eyes. "Ladies choice."

"Name game." Lena smirked. "If you mess up you drink a shot of patron. Amberly, Flint, get us at least ten shots each!"

"Oh God," Amberly said following Flint to the bar.

Parker settled in beside Lena, she gave a small wave to Torn who glared at her. "We play until everyone's passed out… or dead."

Amberly came back with two trays full of tiny shot glasses with the clear liquid. Parker bit her lip as Amberly placed the drinks in front of her. Lena lined her glasses up in front of her and glared across the table at Erol, who took his glasses from Flint.

"Amberly, give us a topic."

"Name popular types of booze. Go, Slim."

"Patron." Slim smirked.

"Rum." Torn muttered under his breath.

"Vodka." Erol answered running his finger along the rim of his drink.

"Bourbon." Parker answered and looked to Lena.

"Scotch." Lena smiled.

Slim paused, sighed and downed a shot. "Oh that's a killer."

"Next topic!" Lena shouted. "Name a body part! Erol go!"

And this went on until Slim passed out first after losing five rounds, next to follow was Torn after finishing off his seventh drink, Parker was soon after dropping out after downing her seventh drink. Finally it was Lena and Erol but she lost after he bested her in six rounds. When Parker woke up her head spun and her vision was blurry. Erol sat in front of her with a satisfied smirk on his face as Lena and Torn came around.

"I didn't win.." She grumbled. "Did I?"

Lena pointed at him. "Don't think this is over."

Erol chuckled. "I could go a couple more rounds, lightweight."

"What'd you call me!?" Lena shouted standing, she stumbled and fell on Amberly's shoulder.

"You're drunk."

"And you're sexy." Lena giggled. "I want you're babies."

"Let's go Lena," Amberly said pulling the girl away from the booth. Parker stood and stumbled slightly but followed Amberly. Flint and Torn carried Slim while Erol walked behind them. Parker leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, the cool Haven air was sure to clear her head. She looked to Amberly as she prompted Lena up against the wall next to her. "You both stay here, I'm going to find a zoomer."

"Okay dokay pokay!" Lena laughed.

Torn stood nearby while Slim puked into the Port, Flint ran after Amberly and Erol leaned against the wall between Lena and Parker. She glared at him.

"I'm mad at you."

"Everyone's mad at me," Erol said looking to her. "Join the party."

"You put me on the list to help with the Dark Warrior Projects."

"I wouldn't want anyone else working with me."

"Even though we both agreed we're equally screwed up?"

"I think I'm a bit more insane then you." He reached out and touched her hand. "But you're just crazy enough for me to trust you."

"Same here." She smiled. "Anyone that can beat Lena at drinking should be a friends."

"Agreed."

"How many shots did you have?"

"Fifteen. Amberly gave me some of yours." He moved to stand in front of her a smirk on his lips. "You're such a lightweight."

"At least I'm not an alcoholic." She smirked grabbing the front of his shirt and pulled him close. "If you're not careful you'll be six feet under before you can even start your precious project."

"I'm not scared of death."

"Then whatever you're thinking about doing you better do it."

"Fine." He grabbed her hip and pinned her against the wall. She gasped when he kissed her, pulling her leg up to rest on his hip as he ran his fingers through her hair grabbing it and pulling it. She pulled his hair too, smirking when he pulled away when she heard a couple cheers from fellow party-goers. She brushed her thumb across his bottom lip before she kissed him again, he bit her lip and pushed her jacket off her shoulders as a zoomer pulled up.

"Oh my God!" Amberly screamed. "Erol get off of her!"

Parker looked to Amberly with a smirk on her face, Erol leaned to her neck and kissed her just above her collar-bone and stepped back smirking. Flint pulled Erol away from the dark-haired girl as Amberly picked Lena up. Lena stumbled and bumped into Torn.

"I know you. You're the loser with the face who wants that ring for the Baron's daughter." Lena laughed.

"Get in the zoomer." Amberly hissed shoving the drunken crime lady into the back seat. Amberly stomped over to Parker and pulled her jacket back on her shoulders. "I hope you two don't remember this by morning."

Parker smiled. "I'm an innocent in this."

"Bullshit." Amberly snapped pulling Parker towards the zoomer. "You didn't look like a damsel in distress while Erol stuck his tongue down your throat. You're equally guilty."

Parker climbed into the back seat with Lena, she leaned on Lena's shoulder as Amberly got in the front seat. "Would it be bad to say he tasted like Jell-O shooters?"

"Yes!" Amberly snapped.

Lena laughed. "Too late."

TBC…


	9. I is for Indelible

**_The ABC's of Beautiful Disasters_**

_Chapter Nine: I is for Indelible_

Amberly liked living alone, she liked waking by herself in the glory of her quiet. She'd get up and check her emails, read the paper and make a warm coffee –strong not sweet. Today she got off her couch and went to the kitchen, she pulled out two pans. She walked down the hallway swinging the pans being careful of not letting them touch. She opened the door to her room, the room was a mess of socks, boots, crimson shorts and jackets. Amberly smirked and ran into the room banging the pans together. She tossed them onto the floor and jumped on the two lumps in her bed.

"Wake up ladies, time to greet the day!"

"Fuck. Off. Amberly." Lena groaned from under Amberly's floral blankets and frilly pillows.

"But you need to wake up." Amberly poked the talking lump. "You have stuff to do, like shake down some poor people, annoy Torn and work on those Hellcats the Baron wants."

"Tell the Baron he can go screw himself." She flipped the blanket off her face and kicked the pillows off her legs. Lena sat up and ruffled the back of her head, she blinked her yellow eye several times before rubbing it. "I forgot my drops at home." She groaned.

"Don't worry," Amberly smiled. "I have some from the last time you stayed over."

"I'm not even going to ask." The other lump mumbled. Parker sat up and adjusted her push-up bra's straps, her hair was a mess as she gave a loud yawn. "Amberly can you bring us some water," She winced as she tried to smooth down her hair. "And strong painkiller?"

"Sure."

"OH MY GOD! What did you do last night?!" Lena shouted pointing at Parker. "Oh sorry, _who_ did you do last night?"

"What are you talking about?" Parker grumbled getting out of bed. She stumbled to Amberly's vanity and leaned on the small table. She waited for her world to stop spinning before she looked into the mirror. She wiped the drool from her cheek and picked a small feather out of her hair before her eyes fell on her neck. A small bruise sat above her collarbone. It didn't hurt when she touched it but she knew it wasn't an injury she got from work. "How'd I get a hickey?"

Lena put up her hands in surrender. "Don't look to me, I don't swing that way." Lena groaned and fell back. "Amberly! My eye is pissing me off! Hurry up!"

"Do you know who gave me this?" Parker asked Lena.

Lena paused. "All I remember is challenging Torn, Erol and Slim in a drinking game. I remember crawling into Amberly's car and throwing up in your boot. Sorry, BTW."

Parker held her head. "Amberly! Water, drugs and answers!"

"I heard you the first time." Amberly said walking into the room with two glasses of water, a small clear bottle, two poppy red pills and a skin coloured jar; she handed a glass of water to Lena. Amberly dropped the pill in Lena's palm and downed both the pill and half her water. She took the small bottle and let five drops fall into her yellow eyes. She blinked a couple of times before falling back on her pillows. Amberly handed Parker a pill and she swallowed it dry, but she did take the water after; Amberly placed the jar on the vanity in front of Parker.

Parker licked her dry lips and picked up the jar. "What's this?"

"Make-up." Amberly glared. "You need it after what you did last night."

"Stop being secretive and just tell us." Lena said borrowing her way back under the pillows. "I'm too hung over and hungry to listen to you speak in code."

"Well after you both lost the drinking game to Erol," Amberly started and sat on the bed. "Flint and I took you guys outside to have a small breather before we took you home." She took a deep breath in. "When I came back with the zoomer, Lena was passed out on the ground and Parker you were pinned to the wall making out with… Erol."

Parker's stomach dropped. She did not make out with her captain last night in a drunken haze. She turned and looked at the hickey on her neck. Even with make-up she wasn't sure it'd stay completely hidden. She needed a scarf or a skin graph.

"What else happened last night?"

"Besides drinking your weight in Jell-O shots and patron? Not much else."

"Wait!" Lena shouted bursting from the blankets. "Erol won the game last night?"

Amberly nodded. "He even walked out of the bar by himself." She sighed. "Speaking of that, we need to get Erol a prize for winning, Krimzon Code."

"He got his prize," Lena grumbled throwing a pillow at Amberly. "He got a made out with Parker, oh, and he saw her half-naked as well."

"I don't think he was looking."

"Then why would he want her goodies later that night?"

"I see you without pants and you don't see me making out with you against my wall."

"On the wall? Were his pants on at least?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to shower." Parker said leaving the room.

"Be sure to wash all the sexy Erol regret off!"

"Shut up!"

"And tell us if you find anymore hickeys you whore!"

"Towels are in the second shelf." Amberly said as Parker closed the door on Lena making sex noises.

* * *

Parker scratched at the make-up on her collar-bone. She didn't find any other hickeys but Lena was convinced she was pregnant with Erol's babies –even went as far as getting a pregnant test or as Lena so politely put it _a piss stick_. Parker threw the box back at her head and left Amberly's apartment.

"Keep scratching it and it'll grow." Lena teased.

"Bite me." She growled. "I'm in the worst mood ever." The elevator's doors opened and they both stepped into the machine. Parker pressed the button to the top floor and kept pressing it until the doors closed. She tapped her foot and glared at the screen above them.

"The project isn't going anywhere." Lena said looking at her nails. "You'll be able to torture those prisoners soon."

"I just want to start this stupid thing, fail miserably at it and then move onto something else."

"You're so optimistic."

Parker was about to answer but stopped herself when the doors opened to the top floor. Parker walked out of the elevator and stopped when she saw the groups of guards standing around. Lena brushed past her and went to the cells that lined the room; she banged on the doors and shouted something. Parker nodded to a couple of the older guards that sat near the cells, they turned away from her as she walked further into the room.

"Captain Erol on deck!" Flint shouted from above. The guards stood straight and looked ahead as Erol walked from the office above. He stopped on the third step and looked down at all the men.

"Welcome to the Dark Warrior Project. I'm Captain Erol and I'm leading this project with the aid of Lieutenant Parker, Special Agent Dash, Medical Warden Slim, Count Veger and Lena."

Lena snorted. Parker looked over her shoulder at the crime lady, she was picking at the lock to a cell. A couple guards turned to look at the two of them before looking back to Erol. Parker bent down beside Lena. She had two bobby pins in her mouth and a bent straight one in the lock.

"What are you doing?" Parker asked.

"Trying to see if these locks are safe," She lifted the bar and the door she was working on swung open. "If I can pick them, that means the inmates can pick them."

"The projects won't be wearing bobby pins." Erol said coming up behind the two of them.

"But they may find one, use it, break out and kill all your guards."

"You're paranoid."

Lena stood. "Among other things, I'm going to work on the injection chair and fix these locks."

Lena started to leave, eyeing the small space where her chair would go. Parker turned to follow but stopped when she heard Erol call out her name. She turned on her heel and looked at the redhead. "What?"

"We have some things to do."

"Like what?"

"Like we need to pick up that channeler."

"Right…" Parker mumbled. "Where?"

"Industrial section, I'm bringing two groups; you're driving. Let's go." He tossed her the keys. She caught them and followed her captain out of the prison. "Group one you're with me, group two you're with Parker. My group will be picking up the channeler and your group will be securing the perimeter."

"Ear pieces in!" Parker shouted. She found hers and put it in, she winced when she heard static and the whine of being too close to Erol. She checked her guns and glanced to Erol. Did he remember last night and if he didn't did Flint remind him? For both their sakes, she hoped he didn't. "I'm online." Parker said into her mouth piece. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes." Erol responded. "We're moving out in two minutes."

"Roger." She motioned for her men to follow. It took only a minute to get to the loading bay, her men lined the transporter. She smiled at her Wolves as they howled to her and climbed onto the transporter, Parker rolled her eyes and got into the driver's seat. She looked in the rear view mirror as Erol's men climbed on, the passenger door opened. She started up the transporter, it hummed to life. She glanced to Erol. "Where's your drop point?"

"Outside the Power Station." She flicked on the sirens and drove straight for the station, many people moved out of the way or ran into buildings when they saw the transporter come around the corner. She landed right beside the Power Station, Erol and his men left the transporter, she a heard bang on the side and she flew away. A few minutes later she found a good place to land, she pocketed the keys and opened the back up for her Wolves. They ran out like children high on candy, they disappeared into the shadows of the city securing the area. Parker followed, disappearing into the shadows with her Wolves. She looked at her tracker, her eight Wolves, including the Pup, surrounded the zone. She climbed to her point and loaded her gun, a couple of civilians did walk into her perimeter but quickly ran when they saw Erol's guards walking towards them.

"Any updates?"

"_Nothing at this present time." _A wolf answered.

"_Same here."_

"_It's boring on my end."_

Parker smiled and switched channels. "Anything yet?"

"_He's supposed to fall from the sky,_ _have you seen any boys falling yet?"_ Erol snapped.

Parker rolled her eyes. "No need to be snarky."

"_Then don't ask stupid questions."_

"It wasn't a stupid question."

"_Yes it was."_

"_Agreed."_

"_The truth hurts."_

"Shut up!" Parker shouted at her Wolves. "Do a perimeter ch-" A sudden burst of static made her wince as a light from above almost blinded her. She jumped to her feet as something shot out of the sky and crashed into the section. She couldn't believe her eyes as a boy, maybe a year or so younger than her, beside him was an orange muse or large rat. This couldn't be the channeler they've been waiting for? He's a boy. The orange rat threw a small pipe and began shouting at the boy. "There he is!" Parker shouted.

"_All units move in."_

"_Step away from the animal." _The orange ran from the boy.

"_Forget the rat!" _Erol shouted. _"The Baron wants him. We've been waiting for you." _One of the guards hit him with the butt of his gun knocking the teen out.

Parker smirked. "Mission complete."

* * *

She felt the pull of it before she entered the room, she could sense all four of the Ecos. Their pull was strong, it made her eyes burn and her skin itched. Lying on the table was the Boy, he was strapped down around his stomach and his knees. Erol stood in the corner glaring at the Boy. Parker rolled her eyes and walked over to the small table next to the Boy.

Her hands drifted over the different Ecos. The brilliant glow of Blue Eco, bluer then any ocean she'd ever seen. The luminous radiance of Yellow Eco, brighter than the sun or the second star in the sky. The warm sparks of Red Eco, thicker than blood but the same colour. Her hand paused over the Green Eco. Its glow was soft and nurturing, it didn't burn like Yellow and Red. She drew her hand back and slipped on a sea-foam green glove and stuck a needle into the boiling Dark Eco. Her heart picked up pace as she watched the purplish black liquid slide up the needle. The wonderfully strange elegance of Dark Eco always intrigued her the way it could kill without mercy. She flicked the needle getting the few air bubbles out.

"You ready?" Erol asked. She nodded. He turned on the recorder. "Captain Erol and Lieutenant Parker reporting. Dark Warrior Project subject number four. Stage One of Dark Eco injection." He nodded at her. "Go ahead." Parker stepped up to the Boy, he looked frightened as she pressed her finger to his arm feeling for a good vein. She smiled, he must've gotten everything he wanted with those big blue eyes –but it wasn't going to work on her. She found a good strong vein and stuck the needle in before she could push the Eco in the Boy head butted her. Parker dropped the needle and fell on her butt as Erol chuckled. "Parker Drake has been taken out by a thirteen year old."

She held her nose as blood streamed down her cheek. She stood up and glared at Erol as he picked up the needle, he held it out to her as she spit out a mouthful of blood. Parker knew her nose was broken. It wouldn't take long to heal but it was going to be a painful night. She snatched the needle away from Erol, she walked up to the table and looked down at the Boy. He didn't look frightened anymore. He looked defiant and challenging.

"I was planning on being gentle since it's your first time, sadly," She plunged the needle in. "that ship sailed a long time ago." She pushed the Dark Eco into his body. The Boy gave a scream, arching off the bed in pure agony. Parker yanked the needle out and threw it in the garbage as he started seizing. After a couple minutes he stopped seizing, he gave a pathetic moan as he tried to roll away from Parker. She got another needle and got more Dark Eco, she moved away from where she stabbed him and put the needle in his hand. He screamed again but didn't seize, she tossed that needle out and looked down at the boy.

"Readings unchanged." Erol said into the recorder and turned it off. He banged on the glass behind him. "Take the boy back to his cell."

"Yes Sir."

Parker didn't look to the guards as they came in and dragged the unconscious Boy out of the room. She could hear him moaning and the guards talking in low voices. She walked to the sink near the small table with the Ecos. She splashed water on her face and scrubbed at her cheeks, carefully washed her nose, and spit into the sink until the water ran clear. She wiped her face with a paper towel and turned finding Erol leaning against the wall.

"I did enjoy your temper tantrum." He spun the recorder.

"He broke my nose."

"Which you can heal overnight, you're already healing; I can smell it."

She touched her nose. She was still bleeding but there was speckles of Green Eco on her hand, she shrugged. "So? It still hurt like any other broken nose."

He paused. "Did he bite you?"

"What?"

He moved across the room to her. "There. He bit you."

Her cheeks burned. Of course Amberly didn't have waterproof make-up. She slapped her hand on her neck and gave a fake yawn. "Oh wow, torturing people is hard, time for bed."

He grabbed her wrist. "If he bit you, you need to get it examined, now."

"He didn't bite me, just forget about it."

"You let random people bite you?"

"Yes all the time, I'm into that." She crossed her arms. "It happened last night at the bar, some guy got a bit frisky and nipped me. No big deal, I'm amusing he learned his less-" Erol grabbed her and pushed her against the wall. She gasped when he grabbed her hip.

"Does this seem familiar?"

She swallowed. "Yup, very much."

"Good. See you tomorrow."

* * *

"Did you guys do it?"

"Lena!" Parker and Amberly shouted at the same time.

Lena's head popped up from under the her chair, she already had the structure down and was trying to hook up the wires and tubes for Eco. She had been working on it all day, stopping only briefly to eat what Amberly brought her. Lena snapped her gum and waved an unlit blowtorch around. "It's a perfectly reasonable question."

Parker sighed. "No we didn't do anything. He left right after and I came here."

"You're such a prev," Amberly snapped at Lena. She shrugged and went back to work.

"These questions need to be asked."

"Excuse me…" A little voice said from the doorway. A girl with dark blue hair stepped into the garage. She wore dark purple capris, a short tank top and large gloves. Her big green eyes scanned the room and landed on the three females. Parker could see that the girl was crying. Parker got off the barrel of oil and stepped to get a better look at the girl, she was young –too young to be wandering around Haven without some sort of protection. "I'm lost… I don't know where I am."

"Lucky Lena's garage!" Lena shouted from under the chair. "We're not open so piss off!"

"If she's from the Slums she's breaking the law." Amberly snapped. "Where are you from?"

"Sandover Village."

"Where's that?" Parker asked.

"It's a small beach area that was around several years ago." Amberly answered. "There's no one around today from Sandover Village and the other villages…" Amberly looked at the girl. "Maybe she's crazy?"

"No, no, no, no! I'm not crazy! I came here with my father, my boyfriend and his best friend!" She paused looking at the zoomer on the wall. "Is that an A-Grav Zoomer?"

Lena's head popped up. "Pardon me?"

"An A-Grav Zoomer? Is it the original?"

"No a stage two," Lena hopped over the chair. "It was discontinued after Damas was over thrown by our current Baron." Lena smirked. "What's your name?"

"Keira."

"Lena," She pointed back to the girls. "They're Amberly and Parker, they're not important, what is important that you know what an A-Grave Zoomer is. Do you wanna see an original zoomer that my employer found?"

Keira's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"This way young one," Lena said motioning towards the back of her shop. "If you get the baby up and running I'll let you keep it."

"She's found a new BBF." Amberly sighed.

"Forever is a long time though."

TBC...


	10. J is for Jaded

Author's Note

Happy Easter to all my readers, I hope you all enjoyed whatever you do with family and friends. I made a bunt cake for my family. Thanks for the review EcoSeeker.

* * *

The ABC's of Beautiful Disasters

Chapter Ten: J is for Jaded

She counted them: 12 months, 365 days, 8765 hours, 525,949 minutes and so many seconds she couldn't count them all. The numbers made her crazy. 20 subjects, 15 horrible deaths, 5 subjects still alive with no change and one pissed Baron because he had no warrior yet. What was she doing wrong? There should've been some change, anything to give her some hope that it was working. Yet she filled her days with Eco research, Eco mixing and the injections until Lena kicked her door in, literally,and announced she was finished with the injection chair.

It was her crown of glory, her baby. Lena installed the beautiful iron beast in the middle of the detention centre, Parker watched from her office camera while eating lunch with Amberly who chatted on about her new diet. The chair would give ten times the amount of Eco to the subject, which made her question why she was still needed. There was no need for injections anymore and there didn't need to be more than one person pushing the button.

Parker sat on the couch in the prison's small office, a textbook about the Precursor Legacies, stories about Mar, Hora-Quan and something called Dark Makers. She was waiting for Erol to come back, he had plans to inject the Boy today –something he took great joy in doing. She looked over her book when Dash entered, he glanced to the girl before going to the computer. Parker kept her eyes on her page but made sure she could still see Dash in the corner of her eye. Lately Dash had been acting weird, he didn't want to come to the prison to help with the project and he ignored most of her calls including Lena's. He looked to her. "Where's Erol?"

"Who knows?" She said turning a page in her book.

"That boy needs his injection."

"I know."

"Why don't you give it to him?"

"Why don't you?" She snapped. "Erol hates it when people play with his things."

"Just do it," Dash said yanking the file cabinet open. "I'll do up the paperwork for you."

She could go home early if she did the experiment. She tossed the book on the couch and went down the stairs to the experimenting area. She glanced up at Dash before he unlocked the Boy's cell. She went over to it and banged on the door. "Krimzon Guard coming! Hands on the wall prisoner!" She waited a minute before looking inside. The boy was against the wall, hands above him. She couldn't see past the mess of blondish green hair. "Hands behind your back." He did as he obeyed and she snapped the cuffs on him. She pulled him out of his cell backwards, she lead him to the chair. He tried to stop but tripped on his own feet. "Get on the chair." He did as he obeyed and laid back. The locks snapped into place with a deafening clank.

"_You're live Park,"_ Dash said through an intercom.

"Eco injections number three hundred sixty-six. Patient has shown no changes since… well since a year ago." She looked to the Boy. She felt a shiver go down her spine. She hadn't noticed that time had changed him too. He looked older now, his eyes filled with hatred for her. She swallowed and looked away from him. "Start the process." She imagined the switch being thrown, the button lighting up red and then Dash hitting the button. The Boy gave a scream, she stood with her back to him as he continued to cry out. The treatment lasted three minutes, three minutes of the Boy giving a blood chilling scream, three minutes of wishing she never agreed to work on this project, one hundred eighty seconds of pure agony. When it stopped she took a deep breath. Erol told her not to show her weakness in front of the inmates. She turned to look at the Boy. He was unconscious but twitching from the Dark Eco. She went to his neck and couldn't feel a pulse.

"_Can't find a pulse?"_ Dash asked reading her mind.

"No, can you unlock the chair?" The locks came off with a clank, she pressed her fingers to the inside of his wrist. Waiting and listening for any sign of life. She waited, counting the seconds until he grabbed her wrist and twisted.

"_Parker!" _Dash shouted.

**CODE BLACK. CODE BLACK. CODE BLACK. CODE BLACK.**

The sirens rang overhead. She hated Code Blacks, it meant all her files disappeared on her computer, lists of undercover units and operations would burn away and her desk would lock until the Code Black was over. She hissed at the Boy as he twisted her wrist, he pulled her to her feet and pushed her away from the chair. Dash was down the stairs with a gun and a stun gun, he glared down the barrel at the Boy.

"Let go of the Lieutenant, Boy." Dash said. "If other KG come down here and see you holding her hostage you'll be dead before you kill her."

The Boy tightened his grip, Parker groaned and tried to move away but he pulled her closer, twisting his grip. With his other hand he ran it down her side finding her gun, she gasped as he unbuckled it and tried to pull it out. She moved her hip away from him. "Don't do it." She whispered. "Dash will kill you, the other guards' will kill you."

"Parker," Dash growled. "Stop talking."

"I've been in your position." His hand stopped at her hip. "I know it's been a hard year for you, believe me I know. I couldn't even make it two months without trying to kill myself." She paused when she heard footsteps from below followed by a howl. Her Wolves, they need their leader was in danger –and most likely saw it on the cameras. If they got here they'd paint the centre with his brains. "I know you're sick and scared, but…" His arms and hands started to drop. "You're stronger than you think."

"Freeze!" A Wolf shouted at the same time Parker pushed the Boy back and screamed: "Don't shoot!"

The gun shot rang out in the closed off space, Parker fell to the ground landing on her hands. She felt the burn of the bullet, the fire that shot through her blood. An Eco bullet, most likely Yellow –those burned like a motherfucker. The Boy sat on the ground beside her, blood coming from his side as he gasped in pain. Where was this kid from if he'd never been shot with a bullet before? The Wolves ran to her side asking if she was okay, she brushed their questions away as she stood. The bullet grazed her side. Blood ran in streams down her hip and along the back of her leg, it didn't look too bad it just stung. She'd be better in an hour or so.

"Are you okay?" Dash asked as the Wolves picked up the Boy.

"Take him to the infirmary." She said picking bits of her jacket out of her wound.

"What about you?"

"I'm fine. I'm already healing," She said showing off her wound, it already stopped bleeding. The Wolves didn't argue, they dragged the half conscious Boy away from the centre. She clamped a hand on her side and looked around. "Where's Erol?"

Dash shrugged. "He should've come when he heard the Code Black, it reaches everyone's communicators."

She flipped hers open. She looked for Erol's icon, she saw Amberly's and Torn's together running around the Fortress. She saw Lena's at her garage. Dash was obviously in front of her and Slim's was in the infirmary. She looked at Keira's icon, she was in the stadium, and so was Erol. He must've been driving, but a sick feeling snuck up her from stomach. She heard Keira's comments about how hot Erol was and if he was single. Lena made sure to send Keira out or put her under a zoomer when she and Erol came by but still…

"I'll be back." Parker said pocketing her communicator and running back up the stairs to the office.

"Parker wait!" Dash shouted but it fell on deaf ears.

* * *

It didn't take her that long to get to the Stadium, the streets were empty because of the Code Black. Everyone followed the orders to seek shelter anywhere they could find it until the code was lifted, although it surpised her that Torn hadn't lifted the code yet by now everything would be back to normal.

She dismounted her zoomer and ran up the steps to the Stadium, scanning her pass to get entry. Lena had set up a small garage for Keira, a pilot shop that Keira owned for the last six months. Parker had to give the girl some credit she was staying afloat in this city, even Krew was impressed with the wide-eyed girl from the lost villages.

Parker ran down the hallway and stopped dead in her tracks. Lena told Parker to DTR, define the relationship to figure what they were to each other. Parker said they were only friends and Lena would add under her breath "With benefits". Parker always said they weren't even a couple, but she couldn't help but feel her heart crack when she saw Erol and Keira making out. Keira sat on her work table legs wrapped around his waist, he was trying to undo her belt as Parker backed up. She did not need to see this.

**METAL HEAD ALERT. METAL HEAD ALERT. METAL HEAD ALERT.**

Her communicator started to go off, as well as Erol's. He grabbed his with a growl. Parker took out hers, Metal Heads have entered the city near the lookout towers. Her Wolves were already mobile, calling her with information on where they should met. She looked up when she heard Keira gasp, she was trying to do her pants up as Erol stepped back from her.

"What are you doing here?" Erol asked.

There was no time to feel sorry for herself and the relationship that she never defined. She pocketed her communicator and ran, she ignored Erol's shouts to come back as she jumped on her zoomer. She drove above the speed limit to the gates to Outer Section, lots of people lived there. She stopped when she saw the people running for their lives, some were bleeding and others were carrying bodies. She jumped off her zoomer and started pushing past people, elbowing mothers in the ribs as they carried their dying children away from the Metal Heads. She kept moving, ignoring the people who dropped to ground suddenly and those who were crawling on the ground. She pulled out both her guns, loaded them and jumped over the small make shift barricade a couple of the Krimzon Guards had made. Her Wolves howled when they saw her, she ducked down where they were as Torn ran to her with his head down.

"Get in there and kill as many Metal Heads as you can." He shouted. "Save as many as you can, leave the dead and injured!"

"We're moving," Parker shouted to her men. "10 seconds!" The all nodded as Parker flipped up the hood of her jacket and adjusted her earpiece, she turned when she heard her name. Erol ran towards her but before he could reach her, she stood up and gave a howl. Her Wolves responded and moved out, running into active battle. She jumped over the barricade and ran after her men, she stopped half down the dirt hill to look back at Erol. He stood at the top of the barricade staring at her. She turned on her heel, running down the hill kicking up dirt as she went. This wasn't the time or place for DTR, she was a solider.

And she was going to act like one.

TBC...


	11. K is for Kinetic

**"Nothing can happen more beautiful than death."** Walt Whitman, 1892

* * *

**_The ABC's of Beautiful Disasters_**

_Chapter Eleven: K is for Kinetic_

Blood. Gallons of the stuff painted the Outer Section, red was everywhere she looked. The beautiful scarlet that coloured her uniform and the bodies of the dead, it stained the faces of her Wolves and dyed their hair. She ran past the people layered in blood, she didn't care if it was theirs or someone they loved. In the distance she heard a baby crying, a man screaming in pain and the last words of someone drowning in their own blood. Metal Heads ripped people to shreds as she ran killing everything that moved; she wasn't sure if she was killing citizens or Metal Heads. She had tunnel vision; the only thing she cared about was killing everything that moved. If it twitched, it was dead. If it cried out, it was dead. She didn't care anymore. She shot down flying Metal Heads, not even bothering collecting their Skull Gems. She tried to avoid the Dark Eco puddles and keep moving, if she stopped she'd surely go insane.

"Kill me…" A voice said behind her. She turned to look at the woman drowning in a puddle of blood, Parker wasn't sure if it belonged to her, the dead Grunts or the decapitated bodies around her. "Just kill me." The woman cried out again, Parker walked up to her and slit her throat, not turning to see if the woman was actually dead. She found her bloody Wolves on a ledge looking over the edge at a group of Metal Heads, she climbed on the ledge and looked down. They were trying to get to the Scarred Site, a small section of the area that had magical properties –something mystical that no one was able to define.

She didn't wait; she just jumped free-falling into the pit of Metal Heads. She knew her Wolves would follow, she didn't choose them for their planning –she picked them because they were ruthless. Blood thirsty just like her. She dropped down like a cat and pulled out her weapons, shooting the first Metal Head dead by the time the Wolves landed beside and behind her. They moved like a fine tuned killing machine, shooting, hitting and slashing at every creature until it was just Parker and her Wolves in the small area. They climbed out of the pit, leaving bloody hand prints on every rock and brick they came in contact with.

She kicked open a case and picked up the ammo in it. She loaded it in her gun and looked back at her Wolves, they were picking through the bodies of the dead and the barely living. She ignored the sounds of bones breaking under her boots, looking straight ahead looking for something to shot, something to kill. She turned when she heard a growl, her draw was too slow as a swarm of Stingers appeared. She heard the Wolves firing their guns as she shot the ones burrowing towards her. One caught her ankle, she fell to her leg knee and stabbed the little Metal Head. It squealed and hissed in pain before Parker dragged the knife down towards its Skull Gem and popped it out. Blood sprayed her in the face, she wiped the blood from her eyes and stood walking towards the barricade.

"It's the Lieutenant!" Someone shouted up ahead. She crawled up and over the barricade, she dropped into the trenches. Parker smirked at the shocked expression everyone wore, earning a collective gasp at the amount of blood she and her Wolves had on them. She walked past them looking for Torn. She stopped when she saw Amberly giving orders to someone over a communicator, her face paled when she saw her best friend but Parker didn't care. She kept walking until she found Torn, Erol and Ashelin talking.

"Oh my God." Flint said getting his superiors to look up. Ashelin looked like she was going to puke, Torn paled and Erol just stared as if he didn't recognize the person stand in front of him. "Are you bleeding?"

"It's not my blood." She said tossing her guns on the table.

"Oh God," Erol said horrified. "It's Parker."

"Who'd you think I was?"

"Somebody… anybody else." Her vision blurred as he spoke, a black fog creeping in as her hearing dulled and the world started to spin. Her body felt heavy, it was dragging her down. "Parker!" Erol shouted. "Did you hear anything I just said?"

"SNEAK ATTACK!" Someone shouted behind them, Parker spun pulling out her knives as the Metal Head ran through the trenches. She threw her first knife aiming for its chest, it bounced off the armour and spun away. She ran at it, pulling her small pistol from boot and fired at the creature. It stumbled a bit before she jumped on it. She fired down into its eye as the creature fell, it clawed at her as stabbed it in the neck. Dark reddish-purple blood coated her as she kicked its precious Skull Gem from its head. She turned looking back to her friends, her hair had come out of its ponytail and blocked her view of her friends.

Amberly ran with a group of guards, she stopped at her superiors and her best friend. "Baron has ordered a retreat! He's blocking this area in 60 seconds! Let's move!"

"Let's go!" Torn shouted at the men and women still in the trenches, he pulled Ashelin towards the safety of the city while barking orders at Amberly. Erol grabbed Parker's arm and pulled her towards the gates, her eyes stayed on the bloody Outer Section. The once proud lookout tower was now painted red in the blood of its citizens and enemies, she stumbled a bit as her ankle throbbed.

Erol turned her to face him. "Are you listening to me?" She stared at him, blinking away the black fog that crept into her vision. Her hearing became echoed as she turned her head to look at a couple of privates carrying their friend, he screamed bloody murder as his blood poured from his torn leg. She watched as another group held their friend up; her neck bled through the muddy bandages. Parker turned to look back to Erol as he pulled her towards the city's gates, she'd never seen them close before but she heard them when she stumbled through. She also heard the screams of the men and women being slaughtered behind the gates. The roar of the Metal Heads drowned them out. Parker's world turned upside down, literally, when Erol lifted her over his shoulder.

"Is she okay?" Amberly cried out running up to the upside down girl.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Erol snapped at the blonde.

"Amberly," Torn ran up. "Any updates?"

She pulled out her communicator. "All cameras in the Outer Section are down but I'll get eyes on the section in less than half an hour. I'll find out how many are dead too and begin preparations on setting up a second door for this section."

"Good." Torn turned to Ashelin. "Let's work on getting everyone out of here and back to the Fortress."

"Should I lift the Code Black?" Amberly asked.

"No, let's leave it on until tomorrow."

"I hate me for breathing..." Parker whispered into Erol's back. Everyone looked at the upside down girl, tears streaked down to her hairline. "Why can't I be like him, to lie cold in the ground... there's room inside for two."

"Um…" Amberly said looking to Torn and Ashelin. "Maybe she should go see the psychiatrist?"

"That boat's sailed a _long_ time ago." Ashelin said she picked up the girl's left ankle. "She has a stinger in here, she's gonna enjoy having that removed."

"We can't escape the nightmares," She whispered again. "The dark ones are coming, our world is dead. Soon everything will be silent… silent and cold… so cold…"

"She just needs a shower," Erol said adjusting her weight. "A shower and good night's rest."

"And some anti-venom." Ashelin added.

"That too."

* * *

"I'm not hurt." Parker protested when Erol put her on the counter in one of the many break rooms around the Fortress. Everything ached, she tried to roll her shoulder but only winced and brushed away the crusted layers of blood. She pulled her right leg up and pulled her boot off followed by her sock stained scarlet, she tossed it to the floor and pulled off her jacket. Flakes of Metal Head blood fell to the ground, she tossed it to the floor and pulled her left ankle up. She pulled the barbed stinger out and bit her lip trying her hardest to ignore the pain. She tossed it in the sink and took her boot off tossing it to the floor next to her other boot.

"Did you pull that stinger out?" Erol asked coming back with a needle.

"Yes." She said trying to de-tangle her hair by finger combing it, but she knew that the knots in the back of her head weren't going to be fixed. She pulled her fingers out and wiped the blood on the counter. "It's not the smartest idea I've had."

"I have the anti-venom." Erol held up the needle.

"I don't need it," She took the needle. "But you might." She pointed to the wound on his arm. He stretched out his arm, Parker took his wrist and turned it over. From his elbow to his palm an angry red line bled through his uniform and gloves. She touched the skin next to it and he flinched. "What got you?"

"A Grunt… I think. It happened while I was escorting some children back to the barricade."

"I didn't see you."

"I saw you."

"What?"

"You leaped off a two-story building, rolled to the ground and stabbed a Slinger in the back. You saved a family but didn't stop to see if they needed help, you just kept running; you were cleaner too."

"I don't remember saving anyone."

"You were pretty feral." He commented turning to the small table in the middle of the room, he tossed his gloves among discarded plates, paperwork and old containers. "Are you sure you didn't bite any of the Metal Heads?"

"Yes I took a chunk out of the Metal Head Leader, wanna see?"

"I'll take your word for it."

"He tasted good, kinda like chicken."

"Can I look at your ankle?"

"No. It stings."

"Let me see it."

"Don't touch it." She held up her leg by her knee. He stepped closer and she flinched back. "Don't touch it."

"I'm not going to touch it," He snapped. He reached out and touched the ball off her foot.

"No touch!" She snarled.

He grabbed her calf and pulled her forward, she screamed as he held her ankle up to his face. Her skin burned bright red with shredded of skin along the edges. Light purple venom oozed from the opening; there were pieces of her boots in he wound. Green Eco twisted away from her wound, moving like vines towards the sun. She was already healing, he couldn't even see signs that the venom was in her blood. "Doesn't seem that bad, but don't do anything stupid."

"Whatever. Can I have my leg back?" She asked keeping her eyes on her ankle, she knew it was healing but it still hurt. His hand slid up her leg to the back of her knee, with his other hand went to her lower back and pulled her closer to him.

"I want to ask you something."

"What?"

"Can I kiss you?"

The word _yes_ danced on her tongue and begged to be let out, but her mind threw her back only six hours ago. Erol and Keira on the work table, Erol playing with Keira's belt –what would've happened if she hadn't shown up or if the Metal Heads hadn't attacked? She wasn't going to be sloppy seconds. She pushed him away and forced, painfully, the words, "No you cannot."

Erol blinked at her. "What?"

"I said no."

He stepped back. "Any reason?"

"Hours ago you were making out with Keira and ready to defile her on the work table I put together for her."

He smirked. "Are you jealous, Drake?"

"No. I'm not going to be the girl on the side." She said crossing her arm across her chest. "Or a random hook-up you tell the boys in the locker room."

He took a step back. "I think you're over thinking this."

"What?"

"Keira and I aren't together, neither are you and I."

She hopped off the counter and put on her jacket, she grabbed her socks and boots. She started to walk out of the break room but stopped halfway out, she turned back to him. "When you figure out who you want, come find me."

"If I choose Keira, I won't be looking for you."

* * *

When the water fell it scared her. It wasn't bitterly cold or fiery hot –it was just right. The sensation scared her, the soft and gentle touch of the water on her frialge skin. She shuddered under the constant beat of the water and listened to it hit her skin. She wiped her face with her hands and ran them through her fingers. She scrubbed at her face with her fingernails not caring if she cut herself. She washed her hair twice, the first time trying to get out the blood and other bodily items that she tried not to look at, the second time was getting the horrible smell of blood out. It took about an hour for her to feel normal again, to feel like she wasn't wearing a second skin. She grabbed the towel off the rack and wrapped it around herself, she scratched the back of her head while trying off the faucet.

The female Krimzon Guard change room was empty, there were girls floating around earlier but now Parker was all by herself. She walked to her locker, peeking down the aisle to make sure she was truly alone. She stopped at the table near the rest station, a stack of neatly folded shirts, sweatpants, underwear and bras sat next to a small bundle of white socks. A letter was above them, typed and signed by the Baron. She didn't bother reading it, instead she grabbed some clothes her size and went to her locker.

Her laundry bag stunk of blood when she tossed it to the floor, she needed to do laundry or she'll be fighting the Metal Heads naked. She pulled on the KG issued underwear and sports bra, she reached for the sweatpants when someone grabbed her wrist and shoved her up against the locker. They pinned her arm back and put their knee against her thigh, they held her against the locker with their forearm.

_"Don't be scared," _A computerized voice said. _"I don't want to hurt you. I came to warn you Parker Drake. The time of reckoning is upon us. The Shadow has watched you this past year, he wants you to join his movement to take the city back from Praxis and put the true heir on the throne."_

"He's dead." Parker snarled. "They're all dead. You're wasting your time and mine."

_"We'll take back the city. Join us tomorrow at midnight, wear all black, bring your KG clothes and we'll burn them thus beginning a new operation." _They let go of her arms, she grabbed her gun and spun around but found no one there. On the bench was a black flyer, the Praxis symbol being smashed by a large hammer. Written in white was a single word:

**ERCHOMAI**

TBC…

* * *

Author Note

So I was planning on doing a double chapter update but while searching for something to put on the TV I found my fave movie **Mermaids**... so I'll write the next chapter tomorrow or something. Thanks Ecoseeker for your reviews.


	12. L is for Lights

**_The ABC's of Beautiful Disasters_**

_Chapter Twelve: L is for Lights_

Parker twisted the rubber band in between her thumb and fore-fingers, she was trying to create a butterfly for the past three hours but she was just cutting off circulation to her nails. So far she made a spider web and something that would've made a cool kaleidoscope image. The rubber band kept her mind occupied, she didn't want to think about the underground movement that was happening or Erol's love affair with Keira –which he was flaunting every second he got.

"Do you want to train tonight, sir?" Flint asked in a low whisper.

"I'm going on a date with Keira," Erol whispered back. "I'll be off duty all night and tomorrow morning."

Ashelin kicked the back of Erol's chair. "Shut up, we're trying to listen!"

"It's not like he's saying anything interesting." Parker mumbled almost ripping her pinky's nail off. She stuck it in her mouth as Erol turned around to glare at Ashelin.

"Piss off Ashelin." Erol snarled.

"He's threatening us," Amberly commented barely looking up from her communicator. "Can you at least pretend to be interested?"

"I will not be intimidated by these traitors!" Baron Praxis shouted into the microphone. "Anyone caught leaving the guard to join this underground gang will be punished with death!"

"Where are your men Parker?" Ashelin asked looking around.

She tugged on a part of her band and the rubber snapped in half. She slumped in her seat and crossed her arms across her chest. "I sent them to the Wasteland to dig for buried treasure."

"Why?"

"They were itching for adventure."

"That is all." The Baron said stepping away from the podium.

Torn stepped up to the podium. "All rise!" The guards did as they were ordered. Parker stood as well, watching the Baron walk off the stage. Torn turned to follow as a couple guards lowered the city's flags, first the city's flag came down. The beautiful dark blue flag with an ouroboros on it; she asked her father what the snake eating itself meant. He told her that it was like a phoenix, the snake will always be reborn or renewed, meaning it'll never die; just like Haven City. It'll stay strong under the threat of the Metal Heads, and if the walls fall, they'll rise again. The House of Mar flag came down next, she didn't like the flag. It looked like an eight but coloured in with a rust coloured marker, she'd never seen the real thing before –only in books or in photos of the old Baron. Next came the Praxis' family flag, a skull with a red gem on its forehead. She saw the symbol everywhere, on every door in the palace, Ashelin kept a small amulet in her locker and the Baron wore it when he could. Parker kept her eyes on the pole that used to hold her house's flag. She touched her necklace, her father would roll in his grave if he found out that the Drake flag was gone.

How would her father want her to act? Once she finished getting dressed she'd burned the flyer, watching the flames curl the edges and burn away the word _erchomai_ –which she found out meant someone coming or rising. The underground gang was planning an uprising and using the most powerful weapons the Baron had, his own men –the ultimate stab in the back. She said goodbye to Ashelin as she walked to her office, biting her thumb nail as she went. A benefit to leaving the guard was following her own rules, fighting for justice and peace but she knew all the Mars were dead, Praxis saw to that before she was born.

She went into her office and shut the door, locking it and turning the lights off. She slid down the door and covered her head. She was playing a dangerous game. Even considering leaving the guard was punishable offense. Would she risk her life on a hunch that a Mar heir was still alive?

* * *

They came from all over.

Those with painted face of red came from the Slums, wearing faces of those that died in countless battles, murdered by the Krimzon Guard, or died for the victory of their city. Children followed their widowed parents, big eyes looking at all the people who marched to the stadium, their chubby hands holding on the black coats of their parent or holding a candle of their dead mother or dying father. Many came from the Bazaars, waving the Baron's flag and carrying torches –some of the flags were already burning steadily as they walked. In the Industrial Section someone had turned off the power, in every window of a rebel sat a black candle burning bright in the dark section. New Town replaced their banners with the mock one but the residents didn't leave their apartments for fear of the Krimzon Guard. The last to come were the guards, shedding their red uniforms for plain clothes and black jackets. It was hard for the guards to hide, their tattoos gave them away.

_"Thank you all for coming," _A computerized voice said above them. _"Welcome to the Underground Movement. Tonight is a new begins for Haven, soon it'll be midnight and we'll fight for a fair and equal Haven!"_ Many people cheered, throwing their hands up and lifting friends on their shoulders. A bonfire started on the stairs burning the crimson uniforms of the ex-guards, someone brought the Baron's banner from the blood Dead Town to the fire. The man lit it and climbs to the top of the stairs and waved it, everyone cheered. A gun shot sounded from in the crowd and man fell to the ground, bleeding from his chest. Red fireworks lit up the sky, everyone turned to look as Krimzon Guards came pouring in from all corners of the city capturing and stopping every rebel in their sights.

* * *

"FLINT!" Erol shouted when he entered the bottom level of the detention centre. The boy ran down the hallway to meet his superior, he slid to a stop and saluted him. "Where's Amberly?"

"Gone sir." Flint said looking at the clipboard. "Amberly and Torn have deserted us, we captured Ashelin on the outside of the Industrial Section. The Baron's talking to her in the throne room. Dash found a couple of your men in the Slums, he brought them all in. I sent a group to check if Krew and Lena were in on the uprising but Krew is in Kras dealing with business with his boys and Lena…"

Erol stopped and turned to his assistant as a group of traitors marched by. "Where's Lena?"

"She was in her garage…" He mumbled. "But she's in the infirmary now."

"Why?"

"She threw a drill at us, so one of the men fired and hit her in the leg. She's not with the Underground, she's still working on the Hellcats." Flint paused. "And… she's also billing us for her stay in the hospital."

"Whatever." Erol said reaching out and grabbing a guard from the line, he pulled the traitor out of line and dragged them down the hallway with Flint trailing behind him. He went into one of the many rooms that lined the hall, he shoved the traitor inside and turned to Flint. "Go find an updated list of all the traitors, now. Report back if there's any signs of Torn or Amberly." Erol didn't wait for his answer as he slammed the door close and glared at the traitor against the far side wall. She wore a poncho like jacket with a huge hood cover most of their face. He could tell the traitor was arrested in the Slums, the heeled boots on her feet were muddy and tinted slightly with blood. He leaned against the door and watched her. She was cool and calm, head bent to the ground. "Do you want to talk about this?"

"No." She said softly.

"You'll be charged."

"I don't care." She paused. "Did I disturb your date with Keira?"

He crossed his arm. "Praxis asked me to watch for the rebels and traitors."

"Is that how you see me after all these years?" She asked. "A traitor."

"I see you as a girl who's making my life a living hell." He sighed. "I also see a girl confused about what her choices are. Have you been processed yet?"

"No."

"You need an alibi for tonight."

"I don't want one."

"You'll be ordered to firing squad."

"Fine," She said lifting her head slightly. "Bring it on."

"This isn't funny." He snarled. "You need to think about the long-term."

"I am."

He stalked across the room and yanked her hood off, Parker leaned her head back so it rested on the wall. A small bruise was starting to spread across her chin and there was a small trail of blood coming from the corner of her mouth. "Please don't make me do this." He whispered.

"You might have to." She whispered back. "Maybe the Shadow is on to something? We should live in a free and equal Haven."

"We need order and you took an oath to protect the city no matter what."

"I'm protecting the city from Praxis."

"And I'm protecting it from you." The Baron said from the doorway, Erol stepped away from Parker. "You're a traitorous little bitch with a date with noose." He grabbed her upper arm. "Arrest her Commander Erol."

"What?" Erol asked, stunned.

"I hereby name you my new Commander since Torn ran away like a coward."

Erol looked to Parker. "Flint," Erol said looking to the boy. "Arrest Parker Drake."

"Yes, sir." Flint said stepping forward, he cleared his throat. "Parker Drake, you're arrested for the crime of treason against Haven City."

TBC...

* * *

Author's Note

Thanks EcoSeeker for your review. I've been super busy over the last week or so. I had to return to my city to over see renovations made by my landlord because of the recent flood, so I'm staying with a friend in the city and getting ready for summer camp in a couple weeks. Also I worked a lot and my bed was louder then the call to update.


	13. M is for Melody

**_The ABC's of Beautiful Disasters_**

_Chapter Thirteen: M is for Melody_

It didn't take long for her to go insane.

She asked herself, too many times, how the other prisoners handled the screaming every day. Screams of pain, screams of torture and the screams, the ones that terrified her most of all, were the ones the guards gave when they found a corpse swing by torn sheets. She heard the gunshots as Erol ordered traitors to their deaths, for the first couple shots she cried and winced but soon she became numb to it and listened to it like a beautiful melody. A haunting song with ghostly wails and high-pitched cries, she could smell the burning bullets and the overcooked Eco. Waiting for her sentencing was worse; the guards would talk outside her cell.

"When can we shoot her?" A guard asked one dark day.

"When the Commander says so," The other answered. "I would enjoy taking her for a ride." They chuckled and left her to stare at the cobwebbed ceiling waiting for death to knock at her door.

She heard the Boy scream every day. A haunting sound that caused her to stop eating; he was mute and they were able to get a sound from him, a sound that echoed off the walls of the prison and woke her from deep sleep. She watched the mice scurry across the cells, taking bits of her meals with them and drinking the water from her broken glasses. Many times she considered killing herself, dragging the glass across her wrist and watching as her life run out. She also considered killing the guard who brought her food, stabbing him in his eye or slicing his neck open. She'd wait for him to come in, he'd put her food, silently, and leave the cell, without a single word.

She always chickened out.

From what she heard from the passing guards, the Underground movement stayed true to their name. They were truly underground, missing in action. Torn was gone, along with Amberly and a good portion of the guard. Many were given a chance to rejoin the guard, to knowledge they were traitors and were willing to change. She waited for someone to offer it to her but no one came, only the boy with her food she considered killing less and less every day.

She lay on the cold metal floor staring up at the dark ceiling, watching the patterns her brain made to help her through the day. Beautiful images that twirled around, blues the colour of the sky that would spin into vivid lashes of green. Her mind going back and forth in the darkness to her childhood, training days and the days she would never had. She saw herself in a wedding dress walking towards an altar but she'd never get there, she held a beautiful baby but never saw its face. She turned her head when she heard shouting and stomping.

"I don't know," A small voice said, jingling the keys. "The Baron told me she's to stay in there until she admits to being a traitor."

"She can't admit to shit if she's dead." A man snapped.

"But she's still alive."

"For now." A small voice said; she heard someone rustle some papers. "Here are the release forms. She's going into the care of Erol and Lena."

"A psych release, why, she's not crazy."

"She's not eating, she's stopped talking, and I heard she's cut herself, she's not fit to be in there." The man snapped, she recognized his voice, it was Erol. "Lena is forwarding you the money to keep your silence."

There was a pause. "The Kras Crime Lady?"

"The one and only." Flint said. Parker could hear the smirk in his voice. "Watch your bank account, my friend, because soon you'll be in the six figure range by midnight."

"Six figures?" Her jailer whispered.

Parker watched the door open, standing in the doorway's glow was Erol with Flint standing behind him. Erol stepped in, stepping over the glass and the several plates she broken in her uncontrollable rage. He brushed a lock of hair out of her face, his fingers trailing along her cheek before pressing them to her neck.

"Sir?" Flint asked.

"There's a pulse, barely." He touched her shoulder. "Parker, are you awake?"

"Don't let me die here…" She whispered.

"Don't be so dramatic." He said slipping an arm around her shoulders and under her knees, her head fell back as he moved her out of the cell. "If you need to find me, I'll be in my apartment." He turned to Flint. "Call Slim as soon as possible." She closed her eyes and listened to Erol and the boy argued about where she should go, Erol agreed that she should be in the hospital and that –"Parker!" Erol shouted, waking her up.

She looked around, she wasn't in the prison anymore. She sat on the floor next to the toilet, a towel across her lap and a glass of water on the sink next to her head. Her prison issued shirt and shorts were gone and she sat in only her underwear. She shivered and covered her chest as Erol turned off the water. "Where am I?"

"My apartment," Erol answered. "Get yourself cleaned up, Slim's on his way." He slammed the door behind him making Parker wince. She pushed herself off the cold tiled floor, grabbing the edge of the tub to support herself. She sat on the edge and looked at her reflection. Her hair stuck up at weird angles all over her head but her face looked like a funhouse mirror image, her sunken eyes looked dead and far away. She touched her lips, they were dry and cracked with blood in the corner of her mouth. She took her bra and underwear off and tossed them beside the towel, she sat in the tub and held her legs to her chest. Tiny scabs had formed on her knees and legs, she picked at the scabs before she went under.

Parker watched the tiny bubbles float to the surface, she waited until her lungs ached for air before she let herself float up. She took a deep breath and sat up, she ran her fingers through her hair and pulled at the knots. She scrubbed at her skin with a rose smelling bar of soap and washed her hair with the same bar. When she finished, she pulled the large rubber plug and watched the water drain. She wrapped herself in the towel and peeked out of the bathroom. It connected to a bedroom, a simple room with only a bed, an end table and a dresser. On the bed was a black lacy nightgown and matching black underwear. Was this what Erol thought she wore?

After considering walking around naked, Parker put on the nightgown and underwear but wrapped herself up with a plaid throw blanket. She walked barefoot down the barren hallway, there were no photos on the wall or artwork that made a house a home. She could hear someone talking and then people laughing hysterically, she stopped at the mouth of the living room. Sitting on one of the couches was Erol reading over a large file, a beer sat on the small table in front of him along with his laptop. He glanced up to her when she leaned on the wall.

"Feel any better?" He asked.

She nodded.

"You look better too," He smirked. "And smell better too."

She opened the blanket showing him the nightdress. "Do I want to know where you got this from?"

"I keep a couple in my dresser if I want to feel sexy." He answered, she crossed the room and sat on the other couch. "Lena bought it, since the clothes I suggested buying offended her."

Of course it was Lena. She recognized the dress, Lena had the same one in her closet but in a bright and sexy shade of red. "Lena doesn't anyways have my best interest at heart." She said pulling at the built-in bra. "How long was I in jail?"

"22 days," Erol took a sip of beer, he got up when a knock came from the door. He opened it and Slim walked in glaring at the man.

"You better have a good reason for calling me."

"I do," He said motioning to Parker.

Slim smiled when he looked to the girl, he walked right up to her and gave her a hug. "I've been worried about you."

"No need to worry," Parker said waving away his concern. "I'm perfectly fine."

"I heard you were cutting yourself."

"Rumours." Parker sat. "I did step on a piece of glass," She held up her foot. "But it's healed already."

"Well let's check you out anyways," Slim said sitting beside her. For an hour Slim checked her pulse and asked her questions about the food she ate or the water she had. Slim shook his head while she answered the questions, she had a bit of water every couple of days and refused to eat anything. After his last question he asked Erol to join him in the kitchen for a 'talk'. Parker sat on the couch flipping through stations, trying to find something interesting. When she did find something Erol and Slim came back in, Erol sat beside her while Slim went through his bag.

"So what's my diag-nonsense?"

Slim crossed his arms. "You think you're funny don't you?"

Parker shrugged. "I've earned a couple chuckles in my day."

"I have a joke for you. Knock, knock."

"Who's there?"

"Feeding tube."

Parker got off the couch and backed away from Slim. "There's no way you're putting that _thing_ back in me."

"So dramatic." Slim teased. "You act as if I'm infecting you with an in curable parasite." Slim went into his bag. "Erol you might have to hold her down, she's also going to need an IV for pain management and most likely fluid replacement."

"For how long?"

"I'm not sure." Slim said pulling out a long needle, he pulled the clear liquid into the body of the needle. "I'll come back tomorrow and see how she's doing, she may have to go back to the hospital."

"Should I just bring her to the hospital?"

"Yes, I'll be there to meet you." He snapped a pair of gloves on.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Parker screamed. "I'm not in prison anymore, I'm going to eat and drink."

"It's not only that." Slim said. "You have pneumonia and you're dehydrated, I wouldn't be surprised if your kidneys were failing or about to fail."

"I feel fine." She snapped as Erol walked up to her, she grabbed his arm. "Why'd you bring him here?" She hissed.

"He's the only doctor I trust."

"Well he's crazy," Parker said turning away from Slim. "Tell him he can go, he's no longer needed here."

"I agree he's crazy but," Erol said before grabbing the girl. "But he's not leaving until you're sedated." Parker screamed but he covered her mouth, she hissed when she felt prick just above her hip. She looked down at the needle in Erol's hand as he pushed the liquid into her body, she struggled against his grip but soon she went slack as Erol picked her up and put her on the couch. She glared up at him as Slim passed him a bag. "What's this?" Erol asked.

"Something I made to help her sleep," Slim said taking her arm, she tried to pull away but she was too weak to fight him. He glared at her as he looked for a vein. "Damn." He hissed. "She's so dehydrated I can't find a vein," He moved down to her wrist. "I really don't want to put one in her foot." She gave a growl as he pressed on her hand. "Found one," She gasped when inserted the stint, he attached the line from the bag Erol was holding.

"Now what?"

"She's going to sleep." Slim stood and smirked down at her. "You're lucky you have friends in such high places, I've seen several traitors die in those cells and countless others kill themselves for the cause."

* * *

_In field of orange lilies and yellow daffodils, a creature slept. It slept peacefully under its purple skies and candy pink clouds that moved across the bright red sun. The wind blew the long blades of grass and they gently tickled the creature's face, it brushed them away and rolled over. It gave a big loud yawn that shattered the clouds like fine china, the clouds rained to the ground before blooming as sleepy roses the colour of ashes. One of the flowers opened for the creature, inside laid a large pomegranate. It stood on its thick legs and took the dangerously delicious fruit, he walked a mile before he came to a clear river with fish swimming downstream._

_On the dock stood a sad maiden, with raven black hair and translucent skin. Across her face was a green cloth for she could not see, and wished not to see. The creature handed her the fruit, breaking the skin so it stained its fingers and hers._

"_What is it?" She asked._

"_A gift."_

"_Who are you?"_

"_The creature everyone fears."_

"_Death?" She guessed._

_He chuckled. "No, my dear child. It's true everyone is afraid of death, afraid of growing old, losing their beauty but I am Death's dark cousin. I am life. Everyone is afraid of living, of experiencing everything I have to offer and what I cannot give, but soon it's too late for my gifts." He pushed the fruit towards her mouth. "Eat girl, eat of the fruit many refuse to taste because they assume I'm death."_

_She feared it, but did take a small seed from the fruit. She put it into her mouth and bit down, letting the tangy yet sweet juices spill over her lips and down her throat. She greedily ate at it, staining her mouth and her long fingers poppy red. She dropped her hands to her sides, the fruit grazing her dress to leave a stain along her side. She sighed and fell backwards, into an awaiting boat. It moved lazily along the river, avoiding rocks and tall reeds that grew along the shore. So she slept, peacefully and deeply. She dreamt of girls dancing in paper dresses, she dreamt of glass hallways, she dreamt of bloody windows and darkened homes with a mother crying. She dreamt of a grave where a man laid, still and quiet. She knew he belonged in the earth, in the cold grave where the world could swallow him whole. She dreamt of fields where she pulled off the cloth, she looked to east where a blonde stood, she looked to the north where the dead man stood, she looked to the west where a red-head stood and, finally, she looked to the north where the path was dense and overgrown –and she took the path less travelled._

_She walked and walked and walked until she choked with thirst, a burning feeling that tore at her neck and threatened to explode her lun-_

Parker jumped awake, eyes burning as she looked up at the ceiling above her. It took her a minute to remember where she was –Erol's apartment. She was still on the couch but her head was resting on a pillow, she tried to sit up but she could feel the pull of something, something inside of her. She groaned and closed her eyes. The feeding tube, Slim actually put it in. Her hand hurt too, she brought it to her face before lying against the hollow of her neck. She looked to her right, standing to her west, just like in her dream, was Erol.

"Hey," He said putting a glass of water on the small table near her. "Welcome back."

"Where's Slim?" She asked. It hurt to speak; she could feel the tube against her voice box.

"He left after he put the tubes in." He walked up to her unhooked her from the steel pole next to her. She stared up at the bag, curious of what the clear liquid was. Seeing her curious look, Erol held up the bag. "It's a fluid replacement, he wants to do a urine test tomorrow and said you needed fluid."

She sighed. She was _still_ too tired to deal with this, all she wanted to do was sleep but her back ached and her legs felt sifter than any tree. She pushed herself up, wincing when her arms cried for her to stop. She prompted herself against the cushion and swung her feet to the floor, shivering only slightly. "Can I sleep in your bed?" She asked.

"That was the plan," Erol said motioning to the pillows and blankets on the other couch. "I'll be out here if you need me."

She nodded and stood, slowly, on her baby legs before walking down the hallway using the wall to support herself. She made it back to the bedroom without falling or passing out, she closed the door behind her and considered locking but remembered this wasn't her room. She crawled on the full mattress and collapsed on the pillows, she snuggled against them and sighed. There wasn't anything better than sleeping in a nice cool bed.

Sadly, her sleep was fitful. She tossed and turned, kicked and whimpered as she bit at her hand. She clawed at the sheets, cursing into the pillow. Around three in the morning she woke up again, groggy and confused. Although she wasn't in prison anymore she felt the panic of being watched over take her, she sat up quickly and turned. Standing at the end of the bed was Erol, just staring at her. He was shirtless and holding the edge of the bed, she stared at him for a long time looking at his tattoos. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Couch sleeping isn't the best type of sleeping." He said with a smirk. "I was considering crawling in beside you but you were hitting the pillow and I don't want to explain to my guards how I got a black eye from a sleeping girl."

She glared. "Then I suggest you go back to the couch."

"You go back to the couch," He snapped. "This is my apartment."

"Whatever," She said moving to the side. She'd sleep at Lena's place, at least she wouldn't let Slim put things inside of her unless it was necessary –and even then she'd fight for a second or fifth opinion. She went to grab her weapons but remembered Flint took them from her twenty-two days ago. She sighed and started for the door.

He chuckled. "You don't have to go." He walked over to the bed and took an extra pillow. "I came for an extra pillow and to see if you still alive."

She went back to the bed and climbed back in, she wasn't in the mood for his mind games. She tugged on her blanket and looked to him. "As you can see I am, so please leave so I can fight the demons in my dreams."

He leaned forward and wiped his finger across her cheek. "Next time you want to act tough, you should wipe your tears away." She touched her face, her cheeks were wet. She was crying in her sleep. She shivered; Erol ran his hand down her arm. "Are you cold?" She was going to answer _'no'_ but before she could respond he wrapped an arm around her and pushed her down. "I'll warm you up."

For a moment, she shrank back from him, suddenly terrified by what the term _I'll warm you up_ meant. His lips brushed hers lightly, as if he was giving her a chance to push him away or tell him to stop. When he kissed her again, she gasped against his mouth –she forgot she was holding it. His body was warm and it reminded her of her fever a year ago. He pulled away from her and ran his hand up her arm. "There's no Amberly to interrupt us this time."

"Hmm," Was all she could say. It was true, Amberly wasn't around to stop whatever he had on his mind –and what was dancing around her head as well. Her kissed her ferociously, savagely, their lips sliding together bruising fervor. He pushed her nightgown up but it got caught on something, something that tugged deep inside of her. With all her strength, she shoved him off and rolled off the bed, hitting the floor with a bang before she ran to the bathroom and barfed.

She was going to kill Slim for ruining the moment, and then she'd bring him back only to kill him again. She coughed and gripped the sink hard, blood dripped from her nose as she spit whatever was left in her mouth into the sink. Arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her close, she leaned back against Erol's chest and gave a soft moan. She hated the feeling in her stomach and the pain in her nose

"Are you okay?"

"I think so…" She whispered. "We'll need to flush out the tube now…"

"Slim left a saline bag," He pulled away. "Go lay down, I'll be right back with your pole."

"I'm not a stripper."

"Oh how I wish." She walked back to the room and went to the window, outside she could see the city still sleeping under a cruel Baron's rule. Torn told her she'd meet the Shadow once she made it to the temporary headquarters, but he didn't tell her where those headquarters were, she was just following a pack when she got caught. She turned when she heard the wheels of the IV pole, Erol held up the clear bag. "Time to play doctor and patient."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "When Hell freezes over."

"That was a bad joke, but I couldn't resist." She rolled her eyes and crawled into the bed, she pushed her hair back showing off her ear. She found the tube's opening on the curve of her ear. "I don't know how to put it in." He said holding the tube to her, she shrugged and attached the IV. She pointed to the bottom of the back.

"Now move the switch," He did and she felt the chilled rush of the saline running down her tube. She shivered again, did Slim put ice all her bags? "Okay now I'm cold."

"I'll take that as invitation to join you."

"Take it however you want," She said wrapping herself up in the blanket. "Just don't steal the blankets." He got in beside her. Turning his back to her, she turned her back to him and hugged her pillow, twisting her feet around the soft sheets.

Hours later she woke again when the machine gave a soft beep, another saline treatment done. She reached behind her ear and pulled the IV out, she was about to go to the bathroom when she felt something holding her down. She turned to look at Erol but he was still faced the other way, but at the bottom of the bed holding her and the blanket to the bed was a green jewelled knife with a note on it. She pulled the knife out, it belonged to her family, more importantly to her ancestor Aleksander, or Alek as her father referred to him. On the blade it said: **WE GROW A LITTLE STRONGER EVERYDAY. **

The note was written beautifully:

_Remember your promise, not the one you made during graduation but the promise you made to your father._

There was only person who knew about what her father had said, but how had Amberly, gotten in and out without waking Erol or herself?

TBC…


	14. N is for Nefarious

_"Hey brother, do you still believe in one another? Hey sister, do you still believe in love I wonder? Oh, if the sky comes falling down for you, there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do." © Avicii, Hey Brother, 2013_

* * *

**_The ABC's of Beautiful Disasters_**

_Chapter Fourteen: N is for Nefarious_

"I have some bad news," Slim said closing her file. Parker glared at him from the bed Lena had forced her into, she was back in her Krimzon Guard gear and loved the feeling of cold metal against her hips –everything would be back to normal. She crossed her arms over her chest, wincing at the pressure of her new dagger in her bra. Lena had given her an odd look when she asked for a knife holder she could wear in her bra, but had produced a brown strap she could wear under her bra line.

"What's wrong now?" Lena asked.

"You're blood tests came back normal." He smirked. "Which troubles me because you're far from normal."

"She has her guns back, now." Lena said pointing the heat Parker was packing on her hips and lower leg. "She could blow your head half way across the room."

"Like I'm scared of her."

"You should be."

"I'm leaving," Parker said swinging her legs off the bed. "I have missions and paperwork to complete."

"Have fun." Slim smirked. "Also Lena, I've heard you've been sick lately too. Get on the table and I'll take your temperature." Parker walked out of the office.

"That better be the mouth thermometer or so help me you're next shipment of whatever will be rat infested."

"Stop being a big baby, Lenie Beanie."

"What'd you call me?!"

Parker smiled to herself, she'd pay to see those two stuck in a room together. Hell she'd to watch them defuse a bomb. She waved bye to Slim's new nurse and stepped outside, she took a deep breath and pulled out her pistols. She glared at the few civilians standing by the door, they were whispering and looking at her with such a hatred it could've set her ablaze. "Move along." She ordered. They did, casting her a couple more glares before moving along in different directions.

Ever since she put her uniform back on she'd been getting glares. Once they were feared and now everyone was gaining a backbone; although Flint did warn her about this.

"Things have changed." He said when he brought her flowers, she thought the flowers were from Erol but was shocked later when she saw that Flint they were from him.

"How so?" She had asked, sipping on her ice water.

"This uniform used to bring respect and fear, now I can feel the Slummers eyes on me." Flint looked away from her, a sad expression on his face. "This tension is going to make the people snap… and someone's going to get hurt."

Parker frowned at the memory. Who would snap first? The people or the Guards? Who would be hurt the most?

"_Parker, you're needed at the detention centre." _A new voice said, she sighed. She missed Amberly's worried tone.

"Roger that." Parker said into her communicator.

She walked the ten minutes to the Fortress, there was no need for a zoomer when she was given a clean bill of health. She scanned her card and took the elevator to the bottom floor, she found herself staring at her nine Wolves plus two more Pups that recently joined her team. Her Wolves looked like Hell. They were beaten and bruised all over, her first Pup, who successfully survived his mission in the Pumping Station and became a Wolf later, could hardly stand. Her second Pup, the one who was forced to run around the city sixteen times –he became a Wolf after he shot down a group of Metal Heads with a pistol, also could barely stand. She stalked forward like a rabid dog, she saw red and whoever did this to her Wolves would pay.

"Who did this to you!?" She snarled, lips trembling in anger.

"That would be me." She spun on her heel. Veger walked forward, his staff clicking on the ground. He stopped and smiled at her. He stood tall with his long jacket and tailored suit, his boots were freshly polished and gleaming under the overhead lights.

"Why would _you_ do this?!"

"Because," He pointed to each of her Wolves. "Each and every one of them ran off with you to join the Underground, of course, we found them together like pups with their tails between their legs." She growled and he smirked. "Temper Miss Drake, just like you, several of them admitted to being traitors–"

"I didn't admit to anything!" She shouted.

"And the others…" He looked to the Wolves. "Are going to be executed."

"Not on my watch."

"But by Praxis' orders." He stepped up beside her. "Now order your men forward." She glared up at him but turned to her men.

"Wolves." They all stood tall at the same time, staring right at her. "Step forward if you knowledge you're a traitor, but pledge alliance to Baron Praxis and ask for his mercy." Six of her Wolves stepped forward, including a Pup. She looked at the Wolves behind them. The ones who stayed true to the Shadow's dream, a free and equal Haven. It hurt to see them, the five of them, a new Pup, an old Pup and a few that had been with her from the beginning, stood tall and strong. "About face," She ordered her loyal Wolves, they turned on their brothers. "Guns at the ready," She commanded. The Wolves pulled out their pistols and pointed them at the traitorous Wolves, the new Pup held his head and started to cry but an older Wolf touched his hand lightly. "Load." She whispered, hoping they wouldn't hear her, but they did, they always did. "Aim…"

"Stop taking so long." Veger sneered. "I have other appointments."

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She closed her eyes not wanting to see her brothers, her wolves fall to the ground. They called her sister, even though their blood didn't match. They protected her on endless occasions and she did the same. They fought over drink tabs and who had the prettier wife or girlfriend. They celebrated together in their victories, no matter how small.

"Fire."

* * *

There was a new area under development that Parker found interesting. While she was in prison a guard came along a thick rich vein of Dark Eco, something the city desperately needed if they were going to win this war –or stay alive for the next several weeks. The only problem some of the guard had was that it ran through a large Lurker Village, although that wasn't a problem for the Baron he ordered the capture of every Lurker. Parker walked up to the railing and leaned on it, down below guards herded Lurkers into cages that were comically too small for them. She watched as a small family were pushed into a cage meant for only one, she was going to order the guard to find a different cage but she kept her mouth quiet. She was already on thin ice, she laid her head down on her hands and watched the Lurkers cry.

"So you are out of prison, I would've let you rot." Baron Praxis said coming up next to her. She didn't say anything. She knew the Baron rather have a dead Drake then a live one, it'd easier to control the city with her corpse hanging by his ridiculous statue in front of his palace.

"What are planning on finding here?"

"Besides Dark Eco?" She nodded. "I'm looking for the Tomb of Mar."

She gave him a sideways glance. "You're joking."

"I never joke, girl." She wrinkled her nose at the term 'girl' but, once again, held her tongue. "I heard that's where Mar hid the Precursor Stone."

"I've also heard it's hidden in the Wasteland, planning on digging that up?"

"If need be." He said putting his hand on his sword. "We're at war. I have lives to protect and those who count on me to protect them." She stood up and looked to him. He did look like the strong and great leader his statue made him out to be. It must be hard to be a leader, to be chosen to run a city that was falling apart of the seams. This was his cross to bear, to carry something that heavy as his people, and some of his guards, curse at him and try to tear him down. He was truly living for the city, his city. Even though he stole it from the previous Baron, it still belonged to him… at the moment. "Ramsay and Rhiannon warned me."

Her ears perked at her parent's names. "Warned you against what?"

He motioned to the pathetic Lurker in front of them and the guards that forced them into cages. "This. You mother was very smart, she warned me, everyone would turn on me… even my daughter."

"She's still in the guard."

"For now. Ramsay also said the same thing, he told me I should be a kind and light-hearted Baron… just like the previous one."

"What did you say to that?"

"I put a bullet through his head."

She felt her stomach drop, but tried not to show she was affected by his comment. She looked back to the digging operation, some of the guards were starting to drag the cages away while others tested the small pools of Dark Eco near the broken huts.

"The Mar family is gone," The Baron said, getting her attention. "Damas was the last of his line with no heir, supposedly." He glanced to her, she shrugged. The Shadow and Torn gave her no indication that the last Heir of Mar was still alive. "There's just the House of Praxis and the House of Drake left."

"Until the Metal Heads get in and destroy everything."

"I won't let that happen."

She looked at him. "You really didn't listen to my father," She flicked her hand back at the pits. "Everything you do is for not. The city will burn no matter what you do. Maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, but it will eventually."

TBC…


	15. O is for Onslaught

**_The ABC's of Beautiful Disasters_**

_Chapter Fifteen: O is for Onslaught_

The girls, Ashelin, Parker, Lena, Olivia and Keira, sat together at the Mar Stadium. Below they watched as the racers flooded in for the First Class Race of the season. There were four teams you could be on. First was the Baron's, a strong group with many trophies. His team won most of the time and stayed on top; Erol was also on his team. Next was Krew's team, a tiny unit of two or three, they raced mostly for money. Parker knew better to bet on his men, they were playing a dangerous game of throwing races or rigging some of the lower class races but most of the townies still bet on them. Next was Lena's team, she employed more racers than Krew but less than the Baron. This season she didn't have any racers, since Parker was in prison and the other went back to Kras City for a while. Lastly, there was Keira's small team. She had only three racers on a good day. Parker had to hand it to the girl though; she could race with the best of them –almost beating Erol one time. Today she had only one racer in the line-up.

"Well this is boring." Olivia announced glancing up for the first time from her nails she'd been painting a deep crimson. She wore a tight black skirt with a ribbed red and black top. She wore Lena's old pair of black thigh high boots that she won in a drink game against a transvestite in the Slums.

"I feel so naked." Ashelin growled kicking the seat in front of her.

Parker had to agree with her friend. To keep the peace at the Baron's favourite pastime, everyone, even the Krimzon Guards, had to surrender their weapons. Olivia threw a fit when she found out but still handed over her twelve weapons on her body. Parker gave up her pistols and her throwing knives, but left her family's knife in her bra. Lena, not having any weapons, went off with Keira to find seats while the guards searched Ashelin. She looked down at the tracker on Ashelin's ankle, she thought her Dad was tough but the Baron attached a tracker to his daughter.

"It'll be over as soon as Erol wins." Parker grumbled.

"Who says Erol's going to win?" Lena smirked. "Maybe Krew and I made a deal of sorts."

"If you're admitting guilt I suggest you stop," Ashelin said looking to the Crime Lady. "There's a KG Captain, a sergeant and a Lieutenant of the guard here."

"Parker wouldn't turn me in."

"It's tempting." Parker smirked.

Lena reeled back in mock horror. "Parker Drake!"

"Look there's Erol!" Keira shouted, and leaned over the seats. "Hi Erol!"

Parker looked down, sure enough Erol had stepped out of the racer's overhead and was making his way to his racer. He stopped and looked up at the group of girls, he gave them a small wave as Lena flipped him off. Parker rolled her eyes as Lena and Ashelin high-fived in front of her. He disappeared under the awnings, without another glance up to them.

"I heard the DWP is taking a test run in the mountains." Olivia said picking at a scabbing cut.

"You heard right." Parker said leaning back. Erol got permission to take the Boy and a few others, who showed promise, into the mountains to test. She didn't want to think about those that were going to fail, but she knew one thing for certain. The Boy was bound to pass, he was the only original subject that hadn't died and there was something different about him she couldn't put her finger on. "We're leaving for the mountains tomorrow."

"Do you think Erol would mind if I tagged along?" Olivia asked.

"Yes he would," Parker smirked. "But if you asked the right_ person_ I'm sure they'll say you can come."

"Parker, may I come on your mission?"

"Of course you can! Hell, bring Rupertikjaksamos."

"We'll see."

"Welcome citizens of Haven City!" The Baron's booming voice came from the too close speakers, Parker winced as the Baron's floating platform came down. He stood with two guards on each side, both looking quite scary holding the only guns in the arena. "We're here to watch the race of three teams in the city. Newcomer's Keira Hagia's team." A few people clapped as Keira's one racer waved up to his mechanic. "The Crime Lord, Krew's team." Everyone cheered as the men waved up to them. "And, finally my team, with the unbeatable, grand champion, Commander Erol!"

"Jeeze," Ashelin snorted. "Why doesn't he marry then man?"

Parker smirked. "Do you really want Erol as your new mommy?"

Ashelin smirked. "As long as I get to call him mommy and he has to wear the dress."

"Would Erol be the top or bottom?" Lena asked. "I see him as a bottom."

"As do I." Olivia smirked. "But let's keep our plans about marrying the Baron to his commander to ourselves. Agreed?"

"Agreed." The girls laughed.

"Everybody ready?" The Baron shouted. "On your mark, get set–"

The lights went out, plunging the stadium into darkness. Screams of terror and pain rang out, Lena grabbed Parker's arms digging her too sharp nails into her arm. Parker felt Ashelin move, and then heard her curse, they were all weaponless. The overhead screen came on, a screen filed with static before pictures of children came into view. Children playing in the streets of Haven, their cheeks big and red from running, they chased a ball before disappearing off screen. Next was another scene of children, begging on a street corner, thin as glass. A voice began to speak. _"The Baron has ordered the collection of ALL the children of Haven City,_" A mother rocking a baby in a small room smiles down at her tiny bundle. Parker's heart squeezed, Maddox would almost be three years old. Soon a group of guards ran into the room, shoved the mother to the ground and stole the baby from its crib. _"That means your sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, grandsons and daughters." _Parker could hear people talking, whispering about their children.

"This isn't good." Olivia snarled. "I'm going to unhook the feed." She got of her seat and ran down the stairs.

Parker looked back to the images. Two children walked hand in hand, laughing and swinging a basket of a fruit. Suddenly two guards grabbed them both, tearing their little hands from each other. _"You're children aren't safe."_ The symbol of the underground group popped up. _"We are the Underground and we will fight for those who can't! We will take away the oppressive rule of the Baron!" _All the lights when on so suddenly it stunned Parker. Standing in front of her was an Underground agent, his gun pointed at her. Keira screamed, dropping to the floor and covering her head. Lena moved to grab the gun but another agent above them tackled her to the floor beside Keira. The first agent fired two shots and ran up the stairs, following the other agents that shot the guards in the audience. Parker swore holding her shoulder, blood ran in rivulets down her arm staining the seat she was sitting in.

"That's the last time I hand my guns over to anybody, eh Ashelin?" Parker looked to the woman beside her. Ashelin lay slumped in her chair, her stomach pouring blood down her legs. "Ashelin!" Parker shouted pressing hard on the bullet wound. "Ashelin! Ash, wake up!" Ashelin gave a soft groan and her eyes fluttered but didn't open them. She saw a group of guards running towards the race track. "Hey, you stop!" She shouted, they turned to look at her but moved to keep going. "She's the Baron's daughter!" She shouted again, they stopped fully and ran back up to them. "Take her to Slim, right now." She ordered. The men lifted Ashelin out of her seat, glancing back at Parker before running up the stairs with the young captain.

"What's going on?" Keira whispered.

"A sneak attack?" Lena asked pulling the blue-haired girl to her feet.

"No," Parker said looking to the banners that flew high above. Once the three poles held only the Baron's flags but now, the new Underground's flag flew, an old Haven flag flew with the symbol of Mar on it, and on the last pole was her family's flag greener than any tree in Haven Forest. "Something worse."

* * *

Erol screamed louder than one person could. Parker rolled her eyes and tied the final stitch she made his arm, after returning to the Fortress, Parker found Erol slumped over his desk and covered in blood. At first she thought it belonged to a rebel but she soon realized, in horror, that it belonged all to her new Commander. He didn't want to see Slim, he wanted to get his gun and raise Hell. They compromised, she'd stitch him up and he'd see Slim tomorrow for antibiotics.

"Shove it Commander," Parker said cutting the thin wire.

"Did you have to be so aggressive?"

"If you wanted to be babied you should've gone to Slim." She went to his desk and pulled out a pocketbook of matches. She struck one but it broke.

"Are you okay?"

"I've already healed." She said striking another match, which snapped in half. She growled. "The blood isn't mine. It's Ashelin's. One of those rebel assholes shot her in the stomach."

"Why?"

"Because she's the Baron's daughter," She turned to Erol. "Why did someone shoot you and not the racer next to you? Why did gunman shoot only me and Ashelin but not Keira or Lena?" She lit the match, the rubber burning black as she dropped it into the little pan with Erol's blood and dirty bandages. "We're wearing red," She glared at the flames. "It makes us target for the angry bull."

"C'mon," Erol said walking to the door. "We have some shit to clean up."

"Do you wish to elaborate?"

"Do you know how to make people fear you?"

She shrugged.

"You become the bad guy."

* * *

Erol was right. Becoming the bad guy, or bad girl in some cases, was the right thing to do. The Rebels told the truth about the Baron orders to arrest every child –the heir was supposed to be a child between the ages of three and six. Parker hated giving her Wolves the order but she gave it anyways with a heavy heart and they followed because only days ago they'd been forced to execute their brothers.

"Please!" A woman cried as Parker watched two of her Wolves drag away her four children. Parker held the youngest, a little girl with big blue eyes and a straw doll. A Wolf led a pair of twin boys around the age of five, they stared up at the Krimzon Guard with awe and wonder. Meanwhile one of her Pups struggled with the six-year-old boy who swung a broom at him.

"Come on Pup," She snapped. She didn't want to be here any longer then she had to be. "He's six, how hard can it be?"

A couple of her Wolves chuckled from their transporter. This was their fourth group of kids, they already moved eight families to the Fortress. One family had two sets of triplets; another was just two boys sitting on their front stoop with signs that read: _I'm four and he's two._ Instead of leaving them, she took them both. The one that broke her heart the most was the family with only a mother, she had two babies hanging from her and five kids waiting for pick up. Her brother had died and she took in his children, and then right after his death her sister became addicted to drugs leaving her two girls alone. She took all of them in, even though she was pregnant. She was upset but happy the kids would have something warm to eat. She listened to many stories and ignored the money flashed in her face, arrested older siblings who tried to keep their siblings close.

"Do you want to deal with him?" The Pup snapped back.

She shifted the little girl's weight. "Can someone _please_ help him?"

The four Wolves at the transporter chuckled. "Nope," One of them answered. "We've all had crap jobs."

"How can you be laughing!?" The woman cried. "You're stealing kids! You bastards! I'll kill you!" She ran back in the house. Meanwhile, distracted by his mother the boy swung the brother at the Pup. He cursed and pulled out his gun. Parker handed the little girl to a Wolf and grabbed his gun, lowering it to the ground.

"We aren't doing this by force." She said stepping up to the boy. "Listen, I know you don't want to go and I understand that it's not fair we're taking you from your mom, but I have a job to do. I want to make sure you're safe, you'll be returned as soon as you've been tested and typed. Everyone gets tested before they're seven, even your mom."

"LIEUTENANT!" A Wolf shouted, just as a gun went off. She tackled the kid to the ground and covered his head, when she looked up she watched the woman fall to the ground; blood coming from her neck.

"Mom!" The little boy shouted, he scrambled to his feet and ran over to the dying woman. "Mom! Mom! Mom!" He cried over and over, wiping away the blood as if it was going to fix everything. Parker stood and covered her mouth, everything was going to fine. She'd put the boy on the transporter and they'd move on, in a month or so her children would be back to her –Parker was sure they weren't the heirs of Mar. Now, they'd return the children to a parentless home. "Mom, please! Mommy!" He kept crying.

"Put him on the transporter." Parker whispered turning her back to the scene. "Let's send someone to pick up the body."

"Okay," The Pup said jumping on the transporter, he took the little girl from a Wolf and sat her beside her twin brothers. He looked back at Parker, his grim expression went to a shocked one as he leaned forward, words on his lips. Another gun shot was fired, going right through his leg, Parker spun pulling out her pistol and firing –her body reacting before her brain could even consider who the shooter was. She dropped her gun at the same time the boy fell to the ground. There was no doubt in her mind.

She killed a little boy.

TBC…


	16. P is for Pandora's Box

_**The ABC's of Beautiful Disaster**s_

_Chapter Sixteen: P is for Pandora's Box_

Everyone saw it.

Sure almost everyone in Haven City had seen someone get shot, it was a daily event that made or broke your day. There were bets at dinner tables or at the pubs of who saw the most people shot, bonus points were given if that person died. It was a sick thing to play, but what else could you do in Haven City but wait and watch people die?

The kid's mother had just been shot. He watched the light fade from her eyes; he'd seen a guard do it. So when the Lieutenant had turned away from him, he'd reached for the gun. Her men were still alive, still standing and still going to take him to wherever they were kidnapping children to. He'd only seen a gun once in his life, his father kept it under the couch he slept on for years, but it wasn't any good when the robbers broke in and killed him. His mother kept it there to keep them safe, without a man they were good as dead anyways. His dad showed him how to use it, to pull the hammer back, aim and fire.

At first, when he touched the gun, he was scared; it was still hot. But he sucked up his fear and picked it up, standing to his feet and pointed the gun at the girl. He heard she was supposed to be protecting Haven, not kidnapping children. He pulled the hammer back, aimed at her and squeezed his eyes shut as he pulled the trigger.

All too suddenly, he was hot. Too hot as he dropped to the ground, he stared at the awning overhead. The beautiful wind chimes dancing in the breeze as the smell of burning Red Eco lulled him to sleep.

And everyone saw it.

Everyone.

* * *

Erol had sent Flint back to his room. He knew the kid Parker had shot and was torn to pieces about it, he cried and screamed as Erol's men dragged him back to his room. He didn't need her hearing the things he was yelling. He went to the women's unit, ignoring the glares her got from almost every female he passed. Outside her door, were her Wolves, bloody and defeated. He heard about the beatings and executions, now this. He stopped and looked at the men, three of the time had four angry red lines on their faces.

"She needs to cut those nails." A Wolf chuckled.

He nodded and pointed at the door. "How's she doing?"

As if being summoned, something crashed at the wall followed by an angry, almost animatistic scream of pure anger. He took a step back as the Wolves winced; another thing was thrown, shattering behind the door.

"Does that answer your question?" A Pup whispered.

"I'll talk to her." He said reaching for the door.

"You're funeral." The Wolves said waving their Commander in.

Erol ducked a flying shot glass, which shattered against the wall and rained glass down his back. He brushed the glass off his shoulders as he stepped over the broken chair at the door. The small windows she had were broken, cracks spider webbing out to the edges. Along the walls were bloody handprints, some were smeared and others were placed perfectly. Her bed turned on its side, the purple and blue sheets on the floor, her pillows slashed with feathers all over the floor. The small desk had been broken, splinters of wood sticking out with blood on them. The small kitchen was destroyed as well. The little stovetop had been bashed in with bloody fists, the mini bar's door had been ripped off and laid beside the window. Parker stood in the middle of the kitchen, fist bleeding as she grabbed another black plate and hurled it at the floor.

"Parker…"

"Get out." She said softly. She picked up another plate and smashed it as well but this time against the stove, a small shard flew up at caught her face. She hissed before grabbing another plate and hurling it at the wall.

"Well," He chuckled, kicking a broke cup. "You've been busy."

She turned around so fast, it startled him –which made him reach for his gun. Tears streaked down her face, along with blood and mascara. She looked like a dark creature from the storybooks his mother used to read. A creature so dangerous, so dark, it feared itself. She looked like the boogeyman, like something he checked under the bed for. "I told you." Her voice chipped as if she was holding back a tsunami of tears. "_To get out_." She threw a knife; it went past him and embedded itself into the wall.

"We've all done terrible things," He said looking towards the bathroom, where a light was sending shadows creeping along the wall only to drag them back. "But we have to move on."

"Screw you Erol." She snarled throwing another dish, this once bounced off her brown carpet and broke when it hit the ground. "Did you ever kill a kid for the world to see? Now everyone will know what kind of monster I am."

He looked around the room. "Come on, let's go back to my place."

"No." She shouted again throwing cup at the wall. "I'm going to stay right here and wait for someone to arrest me!"

He knew there wasn't a chance the Baron would send anyone to arrest her. The kid resisted, pulled a gun on her and the Wolves, she did everything by protocol –even if she ended up killing him. He picked up the dark purple blanket and shook it out, pieces of glass fell out. She turned her back to him and sunk to the floor, picking at the pieces of plates. He put the blanket on her shoulders, she shuddered but pulled the edges close to her. "No one's coming." He said.

She sobbed into her bloody hands. He'd broken the floodgates, whispered the truth she wasn't willing to knowledge. She knew –she knew better than any officer or any newbie, that no one was coming.

How could doing something wrong be so right?

* * *

"Where is she?" Lena demanded when she kicked open Erol's door. Erol glanced up briefly at the Crime Lady as she stalked in with Ashelin, Dash and Olivia on her heels. "Gods help you Slummer if you threw her in jail!"

"You know," Ashelin said looking at the door. "I do have a key card."

"I don't think you'll need it." Olivia glanced at the door. "Hell, I don't think Erol will need it now."

"She's in my room." Erol answered, he closed his laptop. He'd been watching the murder for the past two hours.

"Doing what?"

"I don't know."

"Well why don't you check?"

"She locked the door."

Lena threw her hands up. "What are you five years old? A locked door keeps little Erolie-poo out of his own room?"

He glared at her. "Lena, get out." He stood, he wasn't going to be spoken to like that –especially in his own apartment.

"Screw. You. Commander. Shit. Face."

"Lena," Dash warned. "Let's go."

"Not until I see Parker."

"You're trespassing." Erol snapped. "You're a criminal and you are not allowed on KG property."

"And I care why?"

"Get out Lena."

"Make me Slummer."

He picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder and walked towards the door. Lena kicked and screamed the whole walk down the hall, cursing and threatening on the way. She pulled at his hair, kicked him in the knees and upper thigh. When he dropped her on the ground inside the elevator she spit in his face as he pushed the lobby button. Ashelin, Dash and Olivia followed silent, Olivia had a smirk on her face as they took the other elevator down. When he got to his apartment he slammed the door, glaring miserably at the broken lock.

"Sooo," Parker said from behind him. "Lena was here?"

"Yes." He took a chair and prompted it up against the door, it moved but stayed closed.

"I think she's proven doors can't stop her."

"I know."

She stretched and walked into the kitchen. "So does the little murderess get something to eat or does she starve?"

"Don't refer to yourself as _'little murderess'_."

"That's what I am." Pulling herself on the counter she picked an apple out of the bowl. "I'm not going to name myself Killer because that's for cute and tiny animals."

"You're Parker," He said coming into the kitchen, taking a bottle of water out of the fridge.

She stayed quiet. "What are the people calling me?"

"It's not important."

She glared at him, before taking a bite of her apple. "Who else was here?"

"Dash, Ashelin and Olivia." He glanced to her. "When did you become friends with Liv?"

Parker shrugged. "Olivia has amazing connections to the gangs of Haven. I'm looking for a new weapon and Olivia was the first person I went to."

"Why not Lena?"

"We went to Lena with the designs."

"Oh…" He said chugging his water down. They stayed quiet a little while longer, saying nothing for a long time as Parker ate her apple. She looked to him, he was watching her. "What do you want to do?"

"I want to read what they're saying about me."

"Fine." He said taking her hand and yanking her off the counter. He led her to couch and forced her to sit, he put the laptop on her lap and left the room. She took a deep breath and opened the laptop, it came to life instantly with a picture of Erol and Torn standing together saluting a person off-screen. She opened browser. She saw herself with the back to the kid as he fire, it grazed the transporter but she still turned and shot him; dead.

She scrolled down. Reading all the comments, every single hate filled comment that oozed from the page and invaded her body. They hated her house, someone even burned the Drake flag that used to fly on the pole in the stadium. She shamed her whole family, even if they weren't around to see what she had done. Her father would look at her with disgust if he saw what she'd done, her mother would just cry and hang her head in shame. For the first time in her life she was happy her family was dead, her brother wouldn't grow up to know that his sister was a murderer. She felt their anger, their hatred and fear –if a Krimzon Guard could kill a little kid, what would stop them from slaughtering thousands more? She'd opened Pandora's Box. Something everyone feared but couldn't say, all their lives, even hers and Erol's, belonged to Baron Praxis –and he didn't care who lived or died, all he cared about was winning this war.

She didn't just open Pandora's Box, she kicked it open and poured out the Baron's darkest secret.

She felt sick. She needed to talk to someone. She ran to Erol's room, she was about to knock when something stopped her. Something deep inside that screamed at her. Erol wasn't the person she wanted to talk to –he wasn't the right person to talk to, she closed her eyes and listened to her gut. She wanted to talk to Amberly the most, to crawl into her bed and cry about everything that was happening –just like she used to do when she was a kid. Amberly listened to her demons and didn't fear getting burned by the anger she had. No she needed someone else, someone with ocean blue eyes just like Amberly.

* * *

In bare feet she entered her security code, typing it slowly in the dark room only a lit by the glowing control station. She heard the regular click of the cell being opened, the door swung wide and she, as quietly, as she could went down the stairs and passed the cells counting them in her head. One, an old man with wrinkling skin; Two, a hooker with too many diseases to count; Three; a lunatic with an odd habit of mumbling every letter in the alphabet; Four, another woman who lost her child during the Metal Head attacks and slowly going insane; and finally, Five, the silent boy with eyes like bluebell flowers.

She stepped into his cell and turned on her flashlight, shining it around the room and stopped when she found the Boy in the corner on the floor. He looked up and held his hand up to block the light, she lowered the light and stared at him. When did he get so old? When did he change from a little boy she stabbed with a needle to this young adult with a goatee? And if a prisoner could change, could she change as well? When, exactly, did she think about rebelling against the Baron? When did she start thinking this project was not only a bad idea but immoral and wrong?

"It's me," She whispered, and he automatically shrunk against the wall. She moved closer, holding out a hand. "Hey it's okay… I'm not here to experiment on you…" He gave her an odd look. "I'm here… to… I need someone to listen to me. I need someone who won't judge me, someone… that will only listen." She shined the light on him. "Do you think you can do that?" He just stared at her, dumbfounded. "You don't have to say yes."

He waited a moment or so before moving into a sitting position, watching her and waiting. She gave a sigh and leaned against the wall, shining the light on him. "Thank you," She whispered as tears ran down her cheeks. She chuckled wiping the tears from her face. "Sorry, I haven't even started yet and I'm already crying." He stared at her before she gave a sigh. "Where do I begin? It's been a crazy week…"

TBC…

XXX

Author's Note

So there's this thing called a chapter dump, many of the vets will know what I'm talking about. Sometimes an author would a dump a bunch of chapters on the readers for the hell of it, and that's what I just did. Happy four chapters dump everyone. With that being said everyone should enjoy the long weekend (unless you don't get one and just enjoy your weekend). Thank you to EcoSeeker her for review and Horob575 for the review that woke me from a sleep when it popped up on my phone; luv Paradise E.


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